After decades of research, New Zealand's Institute for Plant & Food Research (P&F) has developed several new apricot varieties which are to be ready for production in three years' time. 

Much of the focus has been on improving the fruit's shelf life so they are better suited to export.

"New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world that is able to export apricots, and so the main purpose of developing new varieties is to export them to markets in Asia," business manager Declan Graham said.

The varieties' flavors were another important factor that was taken into account, given the varying consumer preferences in the Oceanic country and Asian markets.

"New Zealanders tend to prefer apricots that are sweet and sour at the same time, but for Asian consumers, especially Chinese, they show a strong preference for sweet apricots," explains Graham, adding a key goal over the next few years will therefore be to boost the new cultivars' sweetness.

Even though some of the new varieties are still in the experimental process, P&F recently managed to collect a large amount of fruit for consumer testing.

Several hundred tourists, the majority of whom were from mainland China, were invited to sample the new apricots and offer feedback.

"Many Chinese tourists came to New Zealand around Chinese New Year, and a good number of them visited Queenstown on the South Island, where our research center is located," Graham said, adding 69% of the group was made up of Chinese tourists, with participation also from Taiwanese and Hong Kong tourists.

The consumer feedback included assessments on factors like sweetness and firmness. Study results show that 87% of the participants favor the new varieties, and one of the most popular apricots was one with high sugar levels and a relatively firm flesh.

"We noticed something interesting during our testing, that is, many Chinese customers do not eat the skin of apricots at all," Graham said.

This information brings a level of uncertainty over the varieties' future popularity in Asian markets, but the topic will be further studied by the research institute.

New Zealand apricots have not been granted access into the Chinese market, despite the success of New Zealand-produced apples, cherries and kiwifruit in the Asian country.

Graham hopes apricots will be able to benefit from the existing supply chain and market recognition to win the hearts of Chinese consumers in the future.

The 16th International Symposium on Apricot Breeding and Culture was held in Liaoning, China, from June 29 to July 3, and during the event Dr. Jill Stanly from P&F shared some information about the new varieties with researchers and producers.

P&F has already bred many fruit varieties that have been popular in China, such as Jazz apples, Envy apples and G3 kiwifruit.

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