Greek Kiwifruit Trade Continues Its Success Streak and Is Still Expanding in 2023

Fresh Kiwifruit

Greece

Market & Price Trends

Published May 12, 2023

Greece took second place in the global kiwifruit production behind New Zealand in the 2022/23 season with 350K MT of green kiwi and 650 MT of yellow kiwifruit type, according to Tridge data. The volume of Greek kiwifruit exports climbed by 5.79% YoY to 196,750 MT, with India appearing as the fastest growing market, with a 1230% YoY increase to 20,298 MT based on the official April 2023 data. Because kiwifruit is Greece’s major fruit export commodity, packers and growers are increasing production and expanding their reach to include markets such as Israel, Brazil, and India in CY 2023.

With the kiwifruit export season ending, Greece took second place in global production after New Zealand in the 2022/23 season with 350K MT of green kiwi and 650 MT of yellow kiwifruit variety, according to Tridge’s Greece origination manager Theodoros Damvakaris,. Greek kiwifruit export volumes increased by 5.79% YoY up to 196,750 MT, with India emerging as the fastest growing market with a 1560.42% YoY uprise to 14,263 MT in the 2022/23 season. Since kiwifruit is Greece’s leading fruit export product, packers and growers are increasing kiwifruit production in CY 2023 and expanding their reach to markets like Israel, Brazil, and India.

Greece's kiwifruit export season started slowly due to increased supply and pressure from traders to sell kiwifruit quickly before the Italian and New Zealand markets. Oversupply, coupled with weak demand, lasted until the end of 2022, recovering in 2023. According to Theodoros Damvakaris, this resulted in a reasonable income with sales prices varying from USD 0.25/kg for small sizes to USD 0.70/kg for big sizes, despite small-sized fruit and the 40% increase in production and refrigeration costs. More on difficulties burdening Greek growers can be found in the Local insight.

Source: Tridge and TradeMap

Based on Tridge’s April 2023 insight data regarding Greek kiwifruit export, Spain was the number one destination, with a total amount of 28,333 MT, while Italy recorded a significant fall of 54.09% YoY down to 20,298 MT. In the same period, volumes to India exploded 1230% YoY to 20,298 MT. The competitive pricing of Greek kiwis was the main reason for skyrocketing exports and growing demand from India over the last couple of years. November and December are the leading months for the placement of Greek kiwis. The advantages of Greece's kiwifruit seasonality compared to New Zealand’s were given in Increased Italian Kiwifruit Production in 2022 Is Facing Strong Competition and Lower Domestic Consumption, and Adverse Weather Marked the New Zealand Kiwifruit Production in Season 2022/23

Greek government and traders are working diligently in reaching new markets, for example, Israel, as a new destination where 385 MT of kiwis was exported after signing phytosanitary protocols. Expectations are that by 2030, Greece’s kiwi output will increase to 600K MT, which is a tremendous leap for the sector. In 2024, packers and farmers will focus on newly created markets in Asia and Latin America, particularly Brazil and India, and on developing the secondary sector of industrial kiwi use for processed value products.