Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand Department of Conservation, responsible for protecting public land, classify "Actinidia deliciosa" as an environmental weed. Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand Kiwifruit or kiwi is a major horticultural export earner for New Zealand. New Zealand developed the first commercially viable kiwifruit and developed export markets, creating the demand for the fruit that exists today. Today New Zealand is the third largest kiwifruit producing country, next to China and Italy, and holds approximately 30% of the market share. In the 2008-2009 season the value of New Zealand kiwifruit exports was NZ$1.45 billion. Cultivation of the fuzzy kiwifruit spread from China in the
Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand "kiwifruit" which was adopted and later became the industry-wide name. In the 1960s and 1970s, Frieda Caplan, founder of Los Angeles-based Frieda's Finest (aka Frieda's Inc./Frieda's Specialty Produce) played a key role in popularising kiwifruit in the United States, convincing supermarket produce managers to carry the odd-looking fruit. The growth of the export market during this time was composed of individual growers, grower cooperatives, exporters and distributors. An attempt to develop a joint marketing effort saw the establishment of the Kiwifruit Export Promotion Committee in 1970, followed by the Kiwifruit Marketing Licensing Authority in 1977. The Kiwifruit Marketing Licensing Authority