New Zealand kiwifruit marketer Zespri is expanding its network in China through a new partnership with Golden Orchard in Chongqing, a city of almost 30 million people in the province of Sichuan.

Chongqing. Photo: Sanfamedia.com, via Flickr Creative Commons

In a statement, Zespri China country manager Lewis Pan told www.freshfruitportal.com the deal would help develop sales and distribution in southwestern China, where the company saw "tremendous potential".

"This is true for a number of regions in China and we will be continuing to identify new partners and potential distributors who can help grow the business," Pan said.

"Zespri continues to work in China with a core group of import partners. This season we are starting the season with three importers who between them have a broad geographical spread.

"Consistent with our strategy, Zespri remains focused on growing our footprint in China and developing a business plan that will grow our distribution beyond the traditional tier 1 markets."

The executive said he was very excited about the coming season.

"All the reports we have had from our importers are that the market is hungry to receive the fruit this year and that there has been very strong interest in purchasing the first arrivals which is a great sign.

"Last year we introduced the market to Zespri SunGold which went very well and we hope that this year we can capitalise on the progress made in 2014.

"SunGold is a tremendous product and its sweet juicy taste and powerful health properties are proving very popular with our Chinese consumers."

Pan said counterfeit Zespri imitations were a concern for the company, both from a brand perspective and a product integrity perspective.

"We want to ensure that when a consumer buys something that is labelled Zespri that it is genuinely our product and that they can trust it from a production, quality and food safety perspective. This is hugely important to us and our brand," he said.

"Zespri works very closely with our importers and distributors to identify and act on any infringements in the market.

"We will also be focusing this year on educating consumers on how to differentiate our product from others to ensure they are buying genuine product. We will prosecute to the fullest extent possible where we identify infringements on our brand."

When asked about the possibility of Zespri-branded kiwifruit production in China, similar to what currently exists in regions like Europe, Japan and South Korea, Pan said the company had been assessing the possibility for a "number of years" and continued to evaluate the potential or Chinese cultivation.

"This is a significant consideration for Zespri and as such we are taking a very measured approach to understand the opportunities and risks," he said.

"Having said this, we absolutely recognise the potential of a production base in China and the size of the opportunity to providing premium quality, branded kiwifruit to the China market all year round and importantly, as a way of establishing our company as part of the Chinese industry beyond simply selling New Zealand fruit.

"We are working across China to evaluate potential growing regions and partners as part of this process and are encouraged by what we are finding. China production will not be something that Zespri rushes into but we are certainly very focused on the potential."

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