Exotic fruit strategic resource for agriculture: hunting for the 'new kiwi'

Fruit and vegetables in search of the 'new Kiwi', i.e. a product capable of 'turning the tables' and intercepting new consumer trends (such as the race for products with health-promoting properties), adapting to climate change in areas where traditional varieties are struggling, and finally, guaranteeing a prospect of profitability for farmers. The reference to the kiwi stems from the fact that New Zealand's iconic fruit was the first case of an allochthonous variety that, starting in the 1990s, found its own territory in Italy, leading our country to become the world's second largest producer and exporter of kiwi fruit.

The climate variable and progressive overheating lead to looking to tropical varieties. "It is a trend that has been going on for a few years now," commented Coldiretti's fruit and vegetable manager Lorenzo Bazzana, "which has rewarded avocados in particular, for which we estimated months ago in Italy an area that in just a few years has reached 1,200 hectares, especially in the South, with Sicily, Apulia, Calabria and Sardinia in the front row. But that is not all. There are returning tropical species such as the pomegranate, but in this research I would also include the cranberry and the rediscovery of the mulberry, which is not tropical but is sought after for its high antioxidant content'.

A search that is, however, far from simple. "You can't plant everything everywhere,' Bazzana continues, 'You have to check whether the soil is suitable, whether the amount of rainfall and the humidity level are suitable and, last but not least, investigate whether pests of native plants can also attack imported ones. Important in this perspective is the role of research, which, in view of the new scenarios, should be relaunched'.

The fastest growing variety among those recently planted in Italy is the avocado, as confirmed by consumption data compiled by Cso Italy (Centro Servizi Ortofrutticoli). "The avocado is now in third place in terms of consumption of tropical fruit in Italy," explains the director of Cso Italy, Elisa Macchi, "behind two mainstays such as bananas (380 thousand tonnes are consumed in Italy) and pineapples (39 thousand). The avocado is, however, the best performing fruit today. Retail purchases have risen in less than 10 years from one thousand tonnes to the current 20 thousand. Until 7-8 years ago, households buying avocados were only 3%, today they have exceeded the threshold of 30% despite an average price that in 2024 reached EUR 6 per kilo. The situation is different for mangoes, which after approaching 9,000 tonnes in 2019 are now around 5,000.

Among the companies at the forefront of the new made-in-Italy mango business is the Sicilian Halaesa, a company founded in 2022 that has already planted 130 hectares with avocados and aims to reach 300 by 2026. Halaesa will harvest its first crop in the coming weeks, which will go on the market. 'We harvest between 150 and 180 quintals per hectare,' explains Halaesa's co founder, Francesco Mastrandrea. 'We have land in the Messina and Syracuse areas and now we have bought new land in Termini Imerese where we will plant in 2026. We have converted vineyards, olive groves and arable land that were no longer producing due to the climate to avocados. On the market at the moment there is more demand than supply with consumption growing steadily for 10 years. We are convinced that the avocado can follow the parabola of the kiwi with favourable agronomic and weather conditions. Our business plan is based on a field price of EUR 3.2 per kilo for a product that goes on the supermarket shelves at EUR 15-16. The maximum turnover of a hectare of avocado can be between 45 and 50 thousand euros, much better than most Italian fruit and vegetables. The stumbling block are the agronomic conditions for a product that suffers from wind, frost and water stagnation. And not all soils may prove suitable'.