Kiwiflier
Read the latest Kiwiflier newsletter which highlights key industry news and events.
The May 2026 issue of Kiwiflier is attached, and available online here.
This edition's key articles include:
- The results of our 2026 licence release (p.1 and 4), which included the first-ever release of Red80 licence.
- The MV Ponga’s maiden kiwifruit voyage, carrying more that 1.5 million trays of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit and 27,500 trays of Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit to China (p.1).
- A reminder that the Loyalty as Shares (LaS) and Dividends as Shares (DaS) offer period opens 21 May (p.2), as well as more detail on opting in to these initiatives, and FAQs (p.3)
- A wrap-up of our annual Zespri Parliament function (p.2), which highlighted the industry’s contribution to New Zealand and our growth ambitions through Zespri’s 2035 Strategy and how the government can enable this.
- A look at how the NZ-India FTA signing represents an enormous opportunity for kiwifruit and New Zealand (p.4) and sees the tariff on kiwifruit exports removed on up to 15,000 tonnes per year, with exports over that subject to a reduced tariff of 16.5 percent.
- Upcoming events to mark in your calendars: Zespri Annual Meeting (p.2), Green Trial Orchard Field Days (p.4), Bay of Plenty Young Grower Gala Dinner (p.11), and KVH Biosecurity Symposium (p.11)
- A brief update on our Green Pre-Commercial Trials (p.4) as part of our work to create the product portfolio of the future.
- A report on the current scale of Gold3 plantings in China (p.5)
- Market highlights (p. 6 and 7) where we look at how we are unleashing brand-led demand for Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit in Australia, Vietnam, Canada, the US, and Italy. We also highlight the season start across Asia, where trade conferences in Japan, Greater China, and Korea provided valuable opportunities to connect with key stakeholders.
- An overview of how we’re transforming global supply though our ZGS activities (p.8), including updates on our ZGS SunGold Kiwifruit and Green Kiwifruit supply; initial budbreak data from our Smart Monitoring programme in Italy, France, and Greece; and a look at our soil mapping project in Greece to support best practice in orchard management.
Other articles in this Kiwiflier include:
- Fruit quality update
- Shares update: May
- Financial information: Class 1 fruit and service payments and timings; June progress payments reminder
- NZKGI updates
- KVH updates
- NZ Kiwifruit Innovation Award – nominations open
- From the Field Q&A
- Canopy top tip.
The following inserts are also included in this month’s Kiwiflier:
- Marine Cargo Insurance Cover (May 2026 update) – available online here
- A pocket guide to LaS and DaS – available online here.
Check out other issues of Kiwiflier here
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