Around one million trays, or 3,600 tonnes of Zespri’s berry-like RubyRedTM Kiwifruit are expected to be devoured this season. It is now available in most supermarkets and fruit and vegetables stores in New Zealand and will also be in markets throughout Asia Pacific including Japan, China, Taiwan and Singapore and for the first time this season in South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Zespri Chief Executive Officer Dan Mathieson says it’s exciting to reach the one million tray milestone for Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit which is in its third year of commercial production. “Our Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit volume has tripled compared to last season so it’s fantastic to have more fruit available for our customers and consumers in New Zealand and across Asia Pacific, including a number of new markets this year. There’s strong demand for RubyRed which generates a really high level of excitement and uptake amongst customers and consumers, and particularly younger consumers who love the distinctive taste, colour and health benefits.”
Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit was developed through their kiwifruit breeding programme, in partnership with Plant & Food Research and has a smaller natural fruit size. Mathieson says, “We’re expecting strong growth across all our kiwifruit varieties this season, with 193 million trays of kiwifruit to be shipped to markets around the world, with our Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit crop volume increasing with new orchards coming into production.
“As our newest kiwifruit variety, we continue to build our knowledge of Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit so we can meet the strong demand we’re seeing and this includes gathering consumer feedback to drive strong per tray returns in our markets and maximise the value we can return for our RubyRed growers.
“We’re really excited about our red variety which complements our Green and SunGold varieties. It’s also a variety which is helping bring new and younger consumers to the kiwifruit category and we believe increased production in the coming years will support its growth in high value markets.”
RubyRed Kiwifruit supply is expected to triple in volume in 2024 vs 2023. They have a shorter shelf life compared to other Zespri varieties and should be kept refrigerated until ready to eat but if hard, left at room temperature to ripen. It is the latest variant to come through Zespri’s kiwifruit breeding programme, in partnership with Plant & Food Research, with 2024 marking the third year of commercial production.
