‘Stolen’ Chinese kiwifruit becomes New Zealand cash cow in China

Summary

China is the birthplace of the kiwifruit. New Zealanders took the seeds, bred the fruit into kiwifruit and patented varieties including SunGold and the red kiwifruit, meaning Chinese growers must buy licences to plant them. After Zespri was formed in 1997, the New Zealand government ruled that growers could not sell kiwifruit into international markets on their own: all national kiwifruit export rights sit with Zespri, leaving growers to focus on production.

In the 2023/24 financial year, Zespri booked global sales of nearly NZ$4 billion, about RMB 18 billion. China took 25 percent of that global revenue, making it Zespri's largest market worldwide and generating billions in foreign exchange for New Zealand each year. One in every three kiwifruit exported worldwide comes from New Zealand's Zespri, and a single fruit can fetch 10 yuan.

China grows more than half the world's kiwifruit but lacks a national brand, with farm-gate prices falling below 3 yuan a jin. In 2020, Zespri took a Chinese grower to court for planting Zespri vines in China, and the grower was ordered to pay RMB 55 million in damages.

Commentary

Zespri's global sales reached nearly NZ$4 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, with China contributing 25 percent, or about NZ$1 billion, to remain its largest single market. For small and medium-sized New Zealand businesses, Zespri's statutory export monopoly limits direct participation in kiwifruit exports, but there is still scope to work with the local supply chain in growing, packing, cold chain and farm inputs. Zespri uses variety patents and centralised quality control to push unit prices to 10 yuan a fruit, while China produces more than half the world's kiwifruit at farm-gate prices below 3 yuan a jin, a gap that reflects branding and post-harvest handling.

Zespri's plant variety rights case in China, which saw a grower ordered to pay RMB 55 million in 2020, signals stronger intellectual property enforcement there, giving New Zealand horticultural firms with patents clearer protection expectations, though geopolitics and domestic-substitution sentiment still warrant caution on market volatility. New Zealand firms should watch the branding progress of Chinese domestic kiwifruit: if varieties such as Cuixiang and Xuxiang gain ground through e-commerce and cold chain, Zespri's premium share could come under pressure, and related New Zealand service providers would be wise to diversify export markets early.

Keywords: kiwifruit, Zespri, Zespri kiwifruit, New Zealand, Chinese kiwifruit, branding, patents, exports

Summary in Chinese | 摘要

中国是猕猴桃原产地，新西兰人带走种子后培育出奇异果，并申请阳光金果、红果等品种专利，中国种植需购买授权。1997年佳沛成立后，新西兰政府规定果农不能擅自向国际市场出售猕猴桃，全国猕猴桃出口权只归佳沛所有，果农只负责种植。2023/24财年，佳沛全球销售额近40亿新西兰元，约合人民币180亿，中国市场占其全球总营收25%，是佳沛在全球的最大市场，每年为新西兰创造数十亿外汇。

全球每3颗出口奇异果有1颗来自新西兰佳沛，1颗能卖到10元；中国猕猴桃产量占全球一半以上，却缺乏全国性品牌，地头价最低不到3元一斤。2020年，一位中国果农因在中国种植佳沛果株被佳沛告上法庭，最终被判赔偿5500万元。

Commentary in Chinese | 评论

新西兰佳沛2023/24财年全球销售额近40亿新西兰元，中国市场贡献25%，相当于约10亿新西兰元，仍是其最大单一市场。对NZ中小企业而言，佳沛的法定出口垄断意味着直接参与奇异果出口受限，但围绕种植、包装、冷链和农资服务的本地供应链仍有合作空间。佳沛依托品种专利和统一品控将单价推至10元/颗，而中国猕猴桃产量占全球过半但地头价不足3元/斤，价差背后是品牌和采后处理体系差距。

佳沛在华的植物品种权维权案例（如2020年果农被判赔5500万元）表明中国知识产权执行力度提升，这为NZ拥有专利的园艺企业提供了更明确的保护预期，但也需警惕地缘政治和本土替代情绪下的市场波动。NZ企业应关注中国国产猕猴桃品牌化进程，若翠香、徐香等品种借助电商和冷链崛起，佳沛高端市场份额可能被挤压，新西兰相关服务商宜提前布局多元化出口市场。

关键词: 猕猴桃, 佳沛, 奇异果, 新西兰, 国产猕猴桃, 品牌, 专利, 出口

Source: Observer Network