New generation kiwis find firm footing in the right South African localities
The advent of Actinidia chinensis yellow and red kiwi selections with lower chilling requirement has opened the door for South Africa, which had a stab at creating a kiwi industry in the 1980s, but with a focus on green kiwis
“South Africa’s big opportunity is not to be a big player but to be a player of quality, taste and flavour,” maintains Peter Turner, license manager of the Soreli kiwi variety. The Tropic of Capricorn runs through the north of South Africa as the Tropic of Cancer runs through Sichuan Province, the home of chinensis kiwis, guaranteeing many sunlight hours.
In places like Grabouw where growers “burned their fingers” on Hayward type kiwis forty years ago, there is more scepticism towards the new generations of kiwi, but, remarks Peter, where “growers are more adventurous, we’ve made great strides.”
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