Early start for NZ kiwis An early start to the New Zealand kiwifruit season has been forecast by Lorraine Kirby, marketing manager for Zespri UK. Harvesting is a fortnight earlier than usual and the first conventional brown variety should be in stores by mid month. Zespri Gold is expected in the first week of June. According to trade sources, crop estimates point to slightly below the average 60 million trays of fruit exported worldwide each year, but this is still a massive total. While brown fuzzy kiwis still account for around 80% of exports, including organic, Kirby is hopeful that UK sales of Zespri Gold will double this season, taking a 10% share. {{FRESH PRODUCE }}