An international consumer perceptions study by the Chilean Kiwifruit Committee has concluded the country's fruit are still seen to have consistency problems.

The study included a strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats test, conducting supermarket surveys in the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, South Korea, China, Taiwan and the U.S.

The study drew five main conclusions, firstly highlighting that the 'future of Chilean kiwifruit is in the Far East', due to the region's population growth, middle class growth and relatively low consumption at the moment.

The second finding was that consumers tended to perceive New Zealand kiwifruit as a better quality product, but the third conclusion was that Chile could differentiate itself on price.

"It doesn't have to do with the requirements, quality, volume or service conditions, nor with the time of delivery, but with the price," the committee said in a release.

The fourth conclusion was that Chile's major weakness was the inconsistency of its product, while the fifth was that this needs to change.

"When exporters and producers of Chilean kiwifruit were asked how we can improve our participation in the international market over the next five or 10 years, there was a consensus. The first thing that we need to improve is the consistency of the condition and flavor of Chilean kiwifruit, before investing resources in developing marketing strategies and publicity campaigns for the product," the release said.

The committee's marketing and promotion head Christian Carvajal, said there was a 'tremendous challenge' ahead.

"But we are working together to improve the product and to be able to compete on equal terms with Southern Hemisphere kiwifruit-producing countries," he said.

Photo: Camara Aduanera Chile

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