This year the production estimates for Italian kiwis have dropped. According to sources from the CSO, the kiwi production in this country is going to drop by almost 20%, compared to the previous campaign. The total production could reach 469,000 tonnes, as opposed to the 588,000 harvested in the previous campaign.
All the main production regions have decreased their harvests. In Lazio, after record figures last year, they will go back to figures from 2014. In Veneto, the drop is almost exclusively due to the problem of asphyxiation. In Piamonte and Emilia Romagnala, the drop will be gentler, with between 9% and 14% less, respectively. And in regions such as Calabria, farmers are not managing to increase volumes in spite of having increased the crop surface area.
The kiwi is one of the most important fruit productions for Italy. In fact, Italy is the European leader. According to sources from the CSO itself, the weather conditions are changing things and many producers are beginning to show a renewed interest in other varieties, such as the yellow kiwi, which unlike the green kiwi is gaining market share due to it being sweeter and more exotic.
