When Australians or New Zealanders talk of kiwis we mean the bird or the people.
In any other country I’ve visited when people talk about kiwis they are referring to the fruit.
Kiwifruit are one of our export success stories and a partnership between The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology and Zespri International will form the world’s largest research and development programme into new varieties.
FRST has committed $15.2m over seven years and Zespri is contributing $20.5m.
Minister for RS&T Wane Mapp said the investment will fast-track plant breeding research and the development of new kiwifruit cultivars.
“Land and food-based science is at the heart of the New Zealand economy. This investment is an example of building on our strengths and expertise.
“It demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the horticulture sector. It will give New Zealand a commercial advantage over its international competitors. It is estimated that there will be returns on the investment of approximately $350 million over 15 years.
“Investment in Plant & Food Research led to the gold kiwifruit from Zespri, which is now the foundation of $400 million of exports. This project will take our kiwifruit industry to new levels of international success,” he said.
The horticulture sector aims to double the value of its earnings to $10 billion per annum by 2020.
I prefer the green to the gold when it comes to kiwifruit, but the people who’ve given us $400m of export earnings can’t be wrong.
One of the reasons for the success is that the people behind gold kiwifruit learned from previous mistakes and retained plant variety rights.
