Kiwifruit prices have dropped in Europe year-on-year and are down even further in the U.S., which may not bode well for early season crops from Chile and New Zealand.

Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) data shows U.S. kiwifruit prices were significantly lower in week 12 compared to the past two seasons, for both local and overseas-source fruit.

Italian kiwifruit prices in the U.S. have been down by US$3-6 year-on-year on average in February and March, which is a wider gap than the 10% difference in December; prices in week 12 stood at US$9.40 per box on the East coast compared to US$15 in 2015 and US$19.70 in the season prior.

For Californian supply, sales prices were also down on the previous two years with prices of US$13.5 in week 11, compared to finishing prices of US$18.90 in week 8 last year.

According to analytics group Agronometrics, wholesale prices in the Netherlands also showed signs of a depressed market with Italian and Greek kiwifruit hitting US$1.30 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) in week 12, representing year-on-year falls of 28% and 10% respectively.

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