Kiwifruit in New Zealand traces to 1904 when a schoolmistress brought seeds of the Chinese gooseberry back from China.  In the 1920s horticulturist Hayward Wright  (>) developed and promoted the familiar green cultivar or strain.  By 1937 the first commercial planting took place, and in 1952 kiwifruit were exported to the United Kingdom.  To help with exports to the United States the  fruit was given the name "kiwifruit" in 1959.  There are actually 50 to 60 species of kiwifruit (genus Actinidia); A. deliciosa (green) and A. chinensis (golden) being the most well known. Gold varieties were developed commercially in New Zealand in the 1990s.  In 2010 Psa (Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae), a bacteria that affects kiwifruit vines, hit, causing several difficult years for the industry.  Plant & Food Research, a New Zealand government-owned Crown Research Institute, headed a concerted research effort (+), and the grower-funded organization Kiwi Vine Health implemented measures to limit the damage.  Today kiwifruit is New Zealand's top horticultural export.  China is  expected to eclipse Japan as the biggest market.  Predictions lfor New Zealand kiwifruit looking ahead the next dozen years are rosy (+). 

The center of kiwifruit growing in New Zealand is the Bay of Plenty, but there are also several orchards contributing a tiny share of overall production in  the Kerikeri area.  (According to Plant & Food Research, "The kiwifruit industry generates 10,762 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs for the BOP, 380 FTE jobs for Northland and 2,475 FTE for Maori today).

The linchpin of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry is Taurange-based Zespri "formed in 1997 as a global marketing organisation, providing a united grower-owned platform to deliver quality New Zealand-grown kiwifruit to the world.  Zespri is owned by "more than 1,900 current and past growers;" distribution of shares is based on the number of trays a grower produces.  Zespri also engages in offshore production (Italy, France, Korea and Japan).

The Zespri website notes, "The high fibre content, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals of kiwifruit drive its superior nutritional value and make it one of the healthiest fruits available."

• Kiwifruit is New Zealand's top horticultural export.  For the year ending June 30, 2017, exports of kiwifruit accounted for NZ$ FOB $1,663.9 million while total fresh fruit exports were $2,658.4 million and total horticulture exports were $5,118.6 million.  (By comparison the next biggest export crop was apples at $691.1 million).
• "More than 495,000 tonnes of New Zealand kiwifruit are sold overseas each year.  30% is gold varieties."
  
• New Zealand has around 2,500 kiwifruit growers.  An area of 12,578 hectares is planted with kiwifruit.
• China is the world's largest grower of Kiwifruit.
  
  FreshFacts (Plant & Food Research)