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April 03, 2023
Māori kiwifruit growers to enter Hawaiian market
Waatea Team
Posted On April 3, 2023
Download AudioMāori kiwifruit growers are looking to develop their exporting and marketing knowledge.
They’ve signed a collaborative marketing deal with single desk seller Zespri to put fruit into Hawaii next year and Taiwan in 2025.
Māori Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated chair Anaru Timutimu says those are markets where Māori may have a cultural connection to call on.
Because of the current industry structure, the fruit will be drawn from the general pool.
“The funny thing is the Hawaiian consumer and the Hawaiian market actually has a smaller fruit than our Māori orchards can supply because the Māori have got bigger fruit. We will develop that story over time but our goal is to have our own brand, our own story and be able to charge a marketing premium to return back to our growers and investors,” Mr Timutimu says.
Māori growers produce about 10 percent of the kiwifruit crop bringing in more than $100 million a year.
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