India-New Zealand FTA removes kiwifruit tariffs, Zespri targets top-five market
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, unveiled during Narendra Modi's visit, gives New Zealand tariff-free access to India's kiwifruit market. The deal removes the 33% tariff on up to 15,000 tonnes per year, and Zespri expects India to become its fifth-largest market within a decade.
India removes kiwifruit tariffs under new trade deal
The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, unveiled during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to New Zealand, gives New Zealand tariff-free access to India's kiwifruit market. According to Sunlive, New Zealand became the first kiwifruit exporter to secure tariff-free access, along with a 50% tariff reduction on volumes outside the agreed quota.
The deal removes the 33% tariff on up to 15,000 tonnes of kiwifruit per year. Any volume above that threshold will be subject to a reduced tariff of 16.5%. The existing tariff had cost New Zealand growers $9 million on $27 million of sales last season, according to Zespri.
Zespri targets India as fifth-largest market
Zespri, which markets and sells most of New Zealand's kiwifruit crop, expects the agreement to reshape its position in India. Chief executive Jason Te Brake said the concessions transform India from a below-average, low-returns market into an average and above-average one. Zespri holds the statutory right to export all New Zealand kiwifruit except to Australia, and also works with contracted growers in other countries.
Zespri sold around 7,200 tonnes into India this year, split evenly between SunGold and green Hayward fruit. Te Brake expects that volume to more than double within five years, with SunGold rising to 70-75% of shipments. He said India could become New Zealand's fifth-biggest kiwifruit market after Europe, China, Japan and the United States, describing it as a roughly 10-year journey rather than an immediate shift.
Te Brake framed the opportunity around India's population of 1.4 billion. Reaching even 5% of that market, he said, would mean 70 to 80 million consumers. Zespri's global sales approached $6 billion last season, of which New Zealand fruit accounted for $3.5 billion.
Supply chain and IP remain obstacles
Te Brake identified supply chain infrastructure as the biggest challenge. Fruit is currently transshipped through Singapore, and direct shipping from New Zealand to India is around three years away. When Zespri faced similar problems entering the United States, it chartered vessels.
Cool chain infrastructure inside India is a further constraint. Te Brake said 80% of the fruit is sold at roadside stalls in temperatures around 45 degrees with no cold chain, which undermines quality and pushes Zespri toward more modern retail channels. The company also flagged intellectual property protection, citing past problems with unauthorised growing of its varieties in China that have eased under stricter enforcement of plant variety rights.
Zespri said it is not currently planning to source fruit from Indian growers until it has comfort around IP protection. Its orchard support work in India, aimed at improving counter-seasonal supply, is overseen by the Crown agency Bioeconomy Science Institute and funded from Zespri grower returns.
