Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand level of infection by November 2011. Some of the attacks in the Bay of Plenty were by the virulent strain PSA-V. The disease is worldwide, with serious attacks in Italy and France also in 2011. In mid-2013 a China-based Zespri subsidiary was fined nearly $1M for under-declaring customs duties, and the Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation into Zespri itself in October 2013. Much of the breeding to refine the green kiwifruit and develop the gold Zespri was done by the Plant & Food Research Institute (formerly HortResearch) during the decades of 1970-1999. In 1990, the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing
Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand Board opened an office for Europe in Antwerp, Belgium, which became the headquarters for European marketing of Zespri gold kiwifruit in 2010. The general name, "Zespri", has been used for marketing of all green and gold cultivars of kiwifruit from New Zealand since 2012. In 2017, New Zealand growers were acquiring additional land to grow Zespri gold kiwifruit under rising costs for a Zespri license to meet global demand for the gold cultivar. The kiwifruit vine has become an invasive plant species in the Bay of Plenty Region due initially to the dumping of fruit next to bush remnants. The