Kiwifruit from New Zealand is now marketed under one ...

View PDF | Print View
by: Guest Total views: 530 Word Count: 1236   

A TRUE SUPERFRUIT

Delicious, everyday fruit full of energy from New Zealand

By: PAM TAN

Published: 22/05/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: Realtime

The healthy eating lifestyle has hit the world with a big bang. Consumers today are more and more conscious of what they eat in order to achieve a balanced diet. And part of a balanced diet includes the fruit and vegetables that provide the vitamins, minerals and fibre needed to maintain good health, protect against the effects of ageing and reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.



With the healthy eating lifestyle the "superfruit" trend emerged in 2005. These are fruit that combine high nutrition and antioxidant levels with appealing taste and texture. These are the kind of fruit that stand out from the crowd, that excite and give pleasure to consumers.

Of all countries around the world, New Zealand, with its "clean and green" image, is well placed to play a major role in developing superfruit. Its horticulture industry has established its credentials in the field of high value, niche products. Today, it is recognised as a source of high-quality fruit products, and for its innovations in new fruit development and marketing.

In Bangkok this week to launch the 2009 Zespri kiwifruit campaign in Thailand are Daniel Mathieson, Zespri's market manager for Southeast Asia and Lynley Drummond, Health Science manager for Zespri. The campaign launch event, presided over by Dr Brook Barrington, New Zealand's ambassador to Thailand, took place yesterday at lebua hotel at State Tower on Silom Road.



"Kiwifruit from New Zealand is now marketed under one global brand, Zespri," said Daniel Mathieson. "Zespri is 100-percent owned by the kiwifruit growers. This means that only Zespri can sell New Zealand-grown kiwifruit outside New Zealand and Australia. It represents around 4,000 growers and sells over 340,000 tonnes of premium quality kiwifruit to 52 countries every year.

"With a head office in Mount Maunganui in New Zealand, and offices in Asia, Europe and North America, we also work with growers and post-harvest operators in seven locations around the globe to source top-quality fruit," he said.

The world-famous superfruit from New Zealand is the kiwifruit. Its vibrant green flesh and small white core and black seeds are known to contain many nutritious qualities including the highest level of vitamin C in any fruit - almost twice that of an orange - and vitamins A and E, potassium, folate and fibre.



New Zealand can thank Isabel Fraser, a teacher from Wanganui, for its thriving kiwifruit industry. In 1904, Miss Fraser returned from a visit to China with some very special black seeds. Horticulturist Alexander Allison sprouted those seeds and in doing so, started the beginnings of kiwifruit cultivation in New Zealand.

But the responsibility for the start of Zespri kiwifruit belongs to Hayward Wright and his exceptional green thumb. In 1928, with the Bay of Plenty's rich volcanic soils and mild climate, Hayward's first vines grew easily, and ever since that point, the Hayward cultivar has been grown and exported all over the world, launching the kiwifruit industry as we know it today.

The first exports made by pioneering kiwifruit growers were in 1952, to England. Though its original name was "yang tao" or the Chinese gooseberry, growers wanted to name the fruit in recognition of New Zealand's national symbol - the special brown-feathered kiwi; thus the origin of the name "kiwifruit."



In the years following, the industry expanded with entrepreneurial kiwifruit growers banding together to market their fruit overseas. In the 1970s, the Kiwifruit Marketing Board was formed which later evolved to become Zespri International Limited in 1997, a global marketing organisation. It was also at this time that the Zespri kiwifruit brand was born, with a commitment to grow and sell the best kiwifruit, which remains unchanged today.

The right growing conditions for kiwifruit are a climate with plentiful sunshine and rain, and just the right amount of chill in the winter. The growing season is long - up to 240 days a year, beginning with the pruning of the vines in June, immediately following the previous year's harvest.

Throughout the winter months from June to August, kiwifruit starts to grow again. Buds tend to first appear in September, and when they flower, they are pollinated by honeybees between mid-September to mid-November. The vines then begin to fruit with the pollinated flowers transforming into small berries.

In the summer month of January, kiwifruit undergo tremendous growth and so intensive pruning is required. At harvest time, from May to June, the fruit are first tested for ripeness and when they pass the criteria for quality and grade, they are carefully picked by large teams of workers.

Once the fruit have been harvested they are transported to the packhouse to be packed and stored ready for shipping and export.

"Zespri uses natural methods to develop and grow kiwifruit in a way that's sustainable so that it's safe to eat, delicious and healthy," said Mathieson. "We attach great importance to regular communication with our growers through the Canopy website, a huge resource for growers supplying the latest information, research, tools and resources to support growing and delivering high-quality kiwifruit."

Don and Judy Hyland, the husband and wife kiwifruit growers are among the highly successful Zespri families.

"We moved from Rotorua some 17 years ago and started our kiwifruit orchard here in Te Puke," said Don. "We adopted the Zespri system in running our orchard, to make our orchard as sustainable as possible. We also work with Zespri in experimenting new techniques to gain a better crop.

"Our alternate row cropping technique has successfully increased the production of Gold kiwifruit - from 24,000 trays in 2008 to 88,000 trays this year, and we expect next year's production will reach 100,000 trays," said Don proudly.

Innovation is vital to the success of kiwifruit. "Our growers and the entire kiwifruit industry are always looking for ways to produce better fruit," said Mathieson. "The Gold kiwifruit is a good proof. It took 15 years for HortResearch, a New Zealand-based, Zespri-funded company, to develop this delicious fruit."

Taste, consistency and the health factor are what attract customers, and research into what constitutes a great kiwifruit experience and how this is defined by consumers is continuing all the time.

"A greater understanding of this will give us clear direction for breeding programmes, for product enhancement, and for more consumer-oriented fruit approach to the market," said Mathieson.

The Gold kiwifruit has a sweet, subtropical flavour, attractive golden-yellow flesh and a distinctive shape. It is now the third most valuable horticultural export crop of New Zealand behind Green kiwifruit and apples.

"New products are also being developed at HortResearch for Zespri including the Gold that can be safely stored for a long time, high-taste Green and Gold and the early Green and Gold," said Mathieson.

"In Asia, Japan is our biggest market for both Green and Gold kiwifruits, followed by Malaysia, Korea, China, Indonesia and Thailand," said Mathieson. "However, we're seeing the Thai market expanding fast, especially for Gold kiwifruit."

New Zealand kiwifruit are available at supermarket in all leading department stores as well as nationwide retailers including Tops, Big C, Tesco Lotus, Carrefour, Makro, Foodland and Villa Market.

Norway's Alexander Rybak swept the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow with a brash performance of a folk-inspired ballad, sparking celebrations in his Scandinavian home country on Sunday.

Additional information:

Best Vitamin Packs
Soul caliber 4 cheats & best vitamin brand , get it here right away!
What is the best brand of vitamin ? I take Centrum as of now.
Looking For The Best Vitamin Brand ?: GoArticles.com
Best Multivitamin, Best Multivitamins Brands , Best Multi Vitamin
Best vitamin , buy best vitamin , China (mainland) , page1- tootoo.com
Vitamins
Buy vitamin online
Best Vitamin Supplement
What is brand name of the best vitamin supplement? : Nutrition

Related "Vitamins":

• Stinging Eyes? 3 Fixes for Sunscreen Hassles
  After reading a new Consumer Reports survey show ...
• What's causing your headache?
  Last updated 7:08 p.m. PT What's causing your hea ...
• B-100 Caps TwinLab 100ct
  TwinLab B-100 Caps provide a high potency synerg ...
• Heart-Healthy B Vitamins Also Protect Eyes
  Healthnotes Newswire (April 23, 2009)-In a new s ...
• Vegetarian Diets Healthy Choice for Young People, Doctors Say
  Vegetarian Diets Healthy Choice for Young People ...

Comments

Add Comment