This article is published in the January 2022 Kiwiflier.

The Northern Hemisphere harvest of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit took place between weeks 38 and 45 and is now finished across our four commercial growing locations. The harvest went well and volumes are on track to meet pre-season expectations. This harvest will prove the largest volume of Northern Hemisphere SunGold Kiwifruit to date.

As New Zealand-grown kiwifruit sales were completed in various markets, sales of ZGS kiwifruit commenced to extend the life of shelf space for the Zespri brand. All ZGS SunGold Kiwifruit has now been shipped from packhouses in France and Japan with 10 percent remaining in Korea and 12 percent in Italy.

The goal of ZGS is to grow production and provide Zespri Kiwifruit to customers when New Zealand-grown kiwifruit is not available, holding shelf space and consumer attention 12 months of the year. While volumes of ZGS continue to grow year on year, there is currently not enough kiwifruit available to continue supplying customers through to the start of the New Zealand fruit supply in March.

Fruit sales are expected to conclude as per the table below. Note that volumes in the latter weeks will be significantly reduced.

The ZGS Hayward programme has also commenced and kiwifruit from Italy and Greece that meets Zespri's standards is being procured and sold under the Zespri brand. Sales of Hayward will continue in some markets such as Europe, Taiwan and Singapore throughout the season until New Zealand kiwifruit re-enters the market.

A full report on the ZGS 2021 season will be available once sales conclude on Canopy