Kiwifruit exports exceeded the amount consumed domestically. Outside of Australasia, New Zealand kiwifruits are marketed under the brand-name label, Zespri. In the 1980s, countries outside New Zealand began to export kiwifruit. In Italy, the infrastructure and techniques required to support grape production were adapted to the kiwifruit. This, coupled with being close to the European kiwifruit market, led to Italians becoming the leading producer of kiwifruit in 1989. The growing season of Italian kiwifruit does not overlap much with the New Zealand or the Chilean growing seasons, therefore direct competition between New Zealand or Chile was not a significant factor. In
Te Puke for £5! Spurred on by this Jim planted ½ acre of Chinese gooseberries in 1937. During World War II, American serviceman in New Zealand were introduced to the Chinese gooseberry and enjoyed it so much that this spurred further plantings. In 1952 the first exports were made, and in 1959 the name “Kiwifruit” was introduced. Since then many more plantings have been made with Hayward (green) being the most popular. In 1998 “Zespri Gold” kiwifruit was introduced to the market and experiments are being carried out on new varieties including a peelable kiwifruit and "kiwiberry", a small bite-sized kiwifruit-like fruit.