Chilean Kiwi Committee projects good quality of the fruit for the upcoming season.

In 2020, Chilean kiwi exports totaled 146 thousand tons. On the eve of the new kiwi season, the country's producers continue to improve the quality and flavor of their fruit.

According to Carlos Cruzat, Executive Chairman of the Chilean Kiwi Committee, 2021 will be a challenging year under the influence of the pandemic.

In terms of production volume, they project a very similar season to the last one. A milder summer that is expected will positively impact the quality of the fruit. If the ventilation of the orchards is managed well, the rain will not be a problem for the sector. Post harvest could provide some kind of challenge in cases of very long storage.

Cruzat does not see a problem with the condition and quality of fruit for this season, however there is still the uncertainty derived from the pandemic.

The vaccination that is taking place could cause a change in the eating habits of consumers acquired the previous year, when the vitamin C of the kiwi has been reason to consume more.

However, consumption of kiwi is growing more and more, not only due to its properties, but to its taste. 

The Chilean industry has a good quality kiwi due to harvesting the fruit with better maturity parameters, which importers also recognize.

Promotion and domestic market.

Likewise, the manager specified that there is also an interest in continuing to promote kiwi consumption in the domestic market. 

Greece and Italy are supplying the country throughout the year, and that is something that is happening in the rest of the international markets.

The Kiwi Committee is developing a 5-year project, a new impulse for the fruit industry, which is supported by the Committee through strategic steps such as: continuing to improve the quality of the fruit, recovering less productive orchards, having more uniform orchards, and improving field management.

Now, the Committee is working on a platform for agricultural management. "Geomatika del Kiwi" will be available to members from this new season and will be materialized in the next 3 years.

Through this web platform, producers will be able to view their georeferenced orchards; obtain agroclimatic information as well as the Maturity Assurance Program data; view satellite images of their fruits, and monitor their heterogeneity or homogeneity. In this way, the producers will have information that allows them to take smart decisions regarding the management of their properties.

This project, "Management Platform for the Chilean Kiwi", has been developed with the Fruit Development Foundation (FDF) supported by ANASAC in technical areas.

On the platform, the Kiwi Committee will provide webinars and meetings via zoom; will offer all the technical documents online, as well as the seasonal reports.

source: asoex