A KwaZulu Natal producer of gold kiwi fruit, whose gusty venture was largely dismissed as too risky and cost intensive, is proving his detractors wrong with solid sales.
Roselands Farm in the Richmond area had only about 10 hectares of newly planted trees when entrepreneurial farmer Peter Nicholson embarked on his bold business move in 2017.
But a careful reading of global supply vs demand, and delayed delivery given the longitudinal position of the southern hemisphere’s leading producer of gold kiwis, New Zealand, has given Roselands’ produce an exporting edge.
Now, about two years since Nicholson announced his plans to take on the gold kiwi market, he’s hoping to push around 20 tonnes per hectare into the market.
According to Nicholson global demand for the sweet fruit by far exceeds supply and, more importantly, South Africa’s harvesting season has a 4-12 week window period preceding New Zealand’s season.
It gives the country an ideal opportunity to get a significant jump start on their antipodean peers as they lag behind in getting gold kiwi exports to market.
Nicholson believes that large parts of the country could be utilised for growing the resilient fruit which can withstand -15 degrees while still on the vine.
