According to EastFruit analysts, Georgia continues to actively increase the volume of fresh kiwi exports to one of the most quality-demanding markets – Japan. In just the first 10 months of 2024, a total of 264 tons of kiwi have already been exported to Japan, which is 69% more than in the whole year 2023.
As a result, in 2024, Georgia is among the top four largest kiwi suppliers to Japan. However, Georgia’s export volumes are not comparable to those of the leader – New Zealand, which shipped 108,000 tons of fresh kiwi to Japan in the first 10 months of 2024. Chile and the USA are in second and third places in terms of export volumes.
However, a rather unpleasant scandal recently erupted around this successful export story of Georgia, which could permanently close the Japanese market for Georgian suppliers. “Kiwi imported from Iran is being sold in Japan as Georgian. One or two such cases might go unnoticed, but when you don’t even have 1 hectare of kiwi plantation and you export several tons, how is this even possible?” said Demur Pipia, head of the Georgian Kiwi Producers Association, in mid-November 2024.
In 2021, EastFruit has extensively covered Georgia’s unique experience in growing and exporting kiwi – you can read our comprehensive material on this topic here.
Recall that in 2018, leading Georgian kiwi growers united to form the Georgian Kiwi Producers Association, which by 2021 had grown to 114 farmers from across the country, managing 70 hectares of kiwi plantations. The aforementioned head of this association, Demur Pipia, believes that Georgian kiwi is unique due to its taste and high sugar content.
The largest player in the Georgian kiwi market is a private company, Nergeta, which grows kiwi on about 30 hectares (as of 2021). This company buys a significant portion of the kiwi grown by kiwi association members and independently exports it to Japan and Germany. However, as of today, the company’s website is not operational, and the last social media post was in April 2024. Therefore, there is no more current information about its development.
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