Traditional kiwifruit importer India has got an import price break amid a bumper 2025 harvest in major origin, Iran.
According to the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF), availability of Iran’s kiwi supplies in India has risen by 150% this season.
Consequently, sample retail sites in India were reporting kiwi prices at 150 rupees ($1.69) per 440 g. This was down from 160 rupees ($1.73) in earlier offers.
Gyan Fruit Company’s Jatin Bajaj says seasonal entries from Iran into India came as early as mid-September, instead of the usual mid-October start.
Quality has been top-notch thus far, says Bajaj, and he expects bigger fruits to emerge as the harvest unfolds. They will replace those from Chile whose season on the subcontinent ended on a high note in September.
Supplies will increase because Delhi also orders from other sources such as New Zealand for particularly the premium Hayward kiwi variety.
Furthermore, the Mediterranean sources of Italy and Greece have also supplied Hayward in small quantities.
Iran has the supply advantage, however, because of strategic supply timings. The marketing season for its two sweet varieties runs from October to February for Hayward and November to January for golden kiwi.
Unlike far-flung Chile whose logistics go through various transits, Iran has direct shipping routes that cut costs and hence the price relief.
Comparatively, the Chile campaign to India from weeks 19 through 38 of 2025 managed 870 containers, above the corresponding period in 2024.
Iran’s volumes to India for the 2025 campaign could also stage a similar increase as Chile’s, given the rising production. The Levant nation has been averaging over 295,000 tonnes in fresh kiwi harvests in recent years, roughly 50% of which for export. The fruit is even more important to Iran than the above profile on the India market reveals, per the stats below.
Iran Kiwifruit Statistics
Iran is the world’s 4th biggest producer of kiwifruit, with a five-year average output at 292,000-362,000 tonnes (2019 to 2023). The table below, an interpretation of data by the FAOSTAT, illustrates the production history in the early 2020s:
| Year | Total Harvest [tonnes] | Harvest Area [ha] |
| 2023 | 295,142 | 9,924 |
| 2022 | 294,571 | 9,910 |
| 2021 | 294,263 | 9,944 |
| 2020 | 296,593 | 9,919 |
| 2019 | 292,587 | 9,867 |
How much does Iran earn from kiwi exports?
According to the Chamak Group, Iran exports kiwi worth $32 million per year to some 35 nations. A tally by IRNA news shows that in 2019 the value was even more, as it hit $97 million from 140,000 tonnes in export volume. The revenue derives mostly from a quartet of destinations that includes Iraq, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Where do kiwifruit grow in Iran?
The provinces of Gilan alongside Mazandaran in the north of Iran lead national production of kiwifruit. Their harvest season runs in the northern autumn from October through December, when rival supplies from Chile and the southern hemisphere’s origins are waning.