We continue the analysis of the Chilean kiwifruit industry in this second part, based on the interview conducted by FreshFruitPortal.com with the president of the Chilean Kiwifruit Committee, Carlos Cruzat.

During our conversation, the industry leader pointed out that the country is in a new stage, with the industry growing in volume and planting more hectares.

He detailed that as of next year, a greater volume will be incorporated due to the new plantations: “Probably by 2030, we will go from 140,000 tons to 200,000 tons. Therefore, we have to place those 60,000 additional tons in different markets.”

The sector's challenge is long-term, with a view to 2023, but undoubtedly the industry must begin to manage new destinations for the fruit today. In that sense, Cruzat said, “locating those fruits means that we have to go and find space for them.”

He added that one way of doing this is, for example, what they are doing in the Mexican market. The president of the Kiwi Committee commented that next year the Systems Approach for Mexico will begin, and “this will allow us to grow a market from 6,000 tons to 12,000 tons.”

He said that Mexico needs to receive fruit, adding that “we have an important request from importers, so we are in a very positive scenario.”

Regarding the Systems Approach, which is already working with the United States and Brazil, Cruzat indicated that the sector has had orchards prepared for many years, “therefore, producers know how to prepare the fields and handle the fruit in a segregated manner so that the correct inspections can be carried out.”

He emphasized that “there is enough experience for the program to be successful from the beginning.”

Regarding the current status of the protocol, he explained that they are working on the details that the industry must comply with and “once this is ready, we should start the export process in March of next year, using the same inspection systems that the Mexican government has”.

He said that “the industry today is in a very positive stage, of results, of growth and what is coming is to design a healthy industry going forward, where all these Systems Approach issues have to be environmentally friendly and sustainable”.

Cruzat commented that they must also work on consumer demand. In this sense, he said: “We have to carry out a campaign and complement what is being done in Europe, to be able to offer fruit the rest of the year, so that kiwifruit is present all year round”.

He indicated that an example of this is the work they have done in Brazil to expand the consumption of the fruit. “It is a better-known product and we are looking for more presence in supermarkets, and we want to increase this in the next six years to be able to place the fruit that we have.”

Zespri

He pointed out that this year the New Zealand producer and marketer has a significant volume, “30% more and this has caused two things to happen, on the one hand, it presses with more fruit, which makes prices tend to fall”.

The other factor is that by having more fruit, there is more competition in the market, which “helps to project consumption in future years. This opens up market spaces.”

For Cruzat, the most important point is to know how late Zespri will be present in the markets. “This will probably be a year to be able to sell all the large volume it has until quite late,” he said.

In that line, he said that it is likely to be present in the market until the end of November or mid-December in Europe and the United States.