How Can Kiwi Fruit Exporters Reduce Postharvest Losses?

Evidence-Based Strategies for Preserving Kiwi Quality from Cold Storage to the Destination Market

For kiwi exporters, the end of harvesting does not mean the end of risk. Instead, it marks the beginning of a stage in which product quality must be maintained throughout sorting, packaging, cold storage, transportation, and arrival at the destination market.

Kiwifruit may appear perfectly sound and high-quality at loading, yet several weeks later, when the shipment reaches its destination, some of the fruit may have lost firmness, deteriorated in appearance, developed internal damage, or begun to decay.

In these circumstances, the issue is not limited to “waste.” It can also mean a lower proportion of marketable fruit, more claims and potential shipment rejections, lower selling prices, and lost business opportunities.

From this perspective, kiwi postharvest management for exporters should begin with a simple question:

How can marketable product quality be maintained all the way to the destination market?

Why Does Export Kiwifruit Require Careful Postharvest Management?

Kiwifruit can be stored for a relatively long period under suitable conditions, but it is sensitive to environmental factors after harvest.

The University of California’s Postharvest Research and Extension Center describes kiwifruit as highly sensitive to ethylene and reports that even very low ethylene concentrations can trigger fruit softening. The center also identifies storage at temperatures close to 0°C and high relative humidity as suitable conditions for kiwifruit storage. (UC Postharvest Center)

Therefore, the final quality of an export shipment depends not only on orchard quality, but also on the performance of the entire postharvest chain.

Iranian Kiwifruit Exports: A Market Where Quality Has Economic Value

Kiwifruit is an important Iranian horticultural product in international trade, with a substantial share of production coming from the country’s northern provinces, particularly Gilan and Mazandaran.

For example, according to a report quoting the head of the Gilan Agricultural Jihad Organization, approximately 174,000 tonnes of kiwifruit were harvested in the province during the 1403 Iranian calendar season, and more than 46,000 tonnes of kiwifruit had been exported from the province by Esfand of that year. The report lists Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and India among the export destinations. (Gilan24)

These figures indicate that Iran’s kiwifruit export chain serves a substantial, established market. In this market, maintaining product quality until sale can directly affect the economic value of a shipment.

7 Key Factors That Reduce the Quality of Export Kiwifruit

1. Improper Harvesting: The First Link in the Loss Chain

Export kiwifruit should be harvested according to appropriate maturity and quality indicators.

According to the University of California’s Postharvest Research and Extension Center, soluble solids content (SSC) and flesh firmness are important indicators for assessing kiwifruit maturity. The source provides minimum thresholds for harvest timing, but the appropriate values for each export chain may vary depending on the cultivar, production region, target market, and buyer requirements. (UC Postharvest Center)

Impacts, pressure, scratches, and other mechanical injuries can also contribute to quality deterioration and make fruit more susceptible to postharvest diseases.

Export quality must therefore be considered from the harvesting stage onward.

2. Mechanical Damage During Sorting and Packaging

One problem that can sometimes go unnoticed is damage caused as fruit is transferred from the orchard to sorting facilities and then to packaging.

A fruit may look sound when it is packed, but mechanical damage sustained earlier can lead to quality deterioration during transportation or storage.

Gentle handling, reducing unnecessary drops, and carefully designing the fruit-handling route are therefore important elements of export quality management.

3. Temperature: One of the Most Important Factors in Maintaining Shelf Life

Storage temperature directly affects the fruit’s respiration rate and physiological processes.

The University of California’s Postharvest Research and Extension Center identifies approximately 0°C as a suitable storage temperature for kiwifruit and also emphasizes the importance of preventing freezing. (UC Postharvest Center)

In practice, the issue is not simply whether the cold room is cold enough.

It is important to ensure that:

Fruit is cooled promptly after harvest;
Storage temperature remains stable;
Unwanted temperature fluctuations are minimized;
Transportation conditions are consistent with cold-storage conditions.

The cold chain must function as one continuous chain, not as a series of disconnected cold points.

4. Humidity: Balancing Water Loss and the Risk of Decay

Kiwifruit requires suitable relative humidity to prevent moisture loss and weight reduction.

Postharvest specialists recommend high relative humidity for kiwifruit storage. However, increasing humidity alone is not a complete solution, because ventilation, the fruit’s initial condition, packing density, and microbial conditions also matter. (UC Postharvest Center)

The goal is to achieve an appropriate balance between retaining moisture in the fruit and managing the risk of decay.

5. Ethylene: The Hidden Enemy of Export Kiwifruit

This issue is particularly important for kiwifruit exporters.

Ethylene is a plant hormone involved in the ripening and softening of many fruits. Kiwifruit is highly sensitive to ethylene.

According to UC Davis, even very low ethylene concentrations can trigger kiwifruit softening. Exposure to ethylene sources during harvesting, transportation, and storage can also accelerate ripening and loss of firmness. (UC Postharvest Center)

Ethylene management should therefore be part of export-chain management.

Potential Sources of Ethylene in the Export Chain

Ripening fruit;
Other produce stored or transported alongside kiwifruit;
Damaged or overripe fruit;
Certain combustion-powered equipment;
Poorly ventilated environments.

Separating incompatible produce, ensuring adequate ventilation, and managing ethylene-producing sources are therefore important. UC Davis also identifies separation from ethylene-producing commodities and the use of suitable ethylene-reduction methods as ways to manage this risk. (UC Postharvest Center)

6. Postharvest Diseases: Damage That May Appear Late

Decay is not always visible at the time of packaging.

According to UC Davis, diseases such as gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea are important causes of postharvest quality loss in kiwifruit. Mechanical injuries can also make it easier for pathogens to enter the fruit. (UC Postharvest Center)

Disease control should therefore be managed throughout the supply chain, rather than being limited to the cold-storage stage.

7. Packaging Is More Than Mechanical Protection

In modern export operations, packaging can do more than simply protect the product physically.

Depending on the product and export route, suitable packaging should help manage factors such as:

Gas exchange;
Moisture;
Product packing density;
Mechanical damage;
Environmental conditions inside the package.

In some applications, active packaging technologies can also help manage certain factors that affect postharvest quality.

What Role Do Ethylene Absorbers Play in Managing Export Kiwifruit?

Ethylene absorbers should not be considered a replacement for the cold chain, proper sorting, or correct packaging.

Instead, this technology is best viewed as a complementary tool for managing ethylene in enclosed environments.

The aim is not to expect a single packaging product to solve every postharvest problem. Rather, the goal is to create a multilayered system that reduces the factors contributing to quality deterioration.

At AzarShid, ethylene-absorbing solutions are developed and produced in several formats, including sachets, filter tubes, and pads, with this approach in mind:

Active packaging should be part of a postharvest quality-management system, not a substitute for proper cold-chain management.

Is Controlled Atmosphere Storage Beneficial for Kiwifruit?

Controlled Atmosphere (CA) is an established technology used to extend the storage life of certain horticultural products.

Scientific sources have examined controlled oxygen and carbon dioxide conditions as a way to slow ripening and maintain kiwifruit firmness. UC Davis also reports specific conditions for storing kiwifruit in a controlled atmosphere. (UC Postharvest Center)

However, one important point must be kept in mind:

CA conditions must be determined and validated according to the cultivar, product condition, equipment, storage duration, and target-market requirements.

It is therefore not appropriate to recommend a single gas composition as a universal guideline for all export shipments.

What Should Exporters Measure?

A professional exporter should look beyond the quantity of product purchased or shipped.

The more important indicator is:

What percentage of the product is still marketable when it reaches the destination market?

To answer this question, shipment performance can be assessed using indicators such as:

Percentage of sound fruit at destination;
Percentage of weight loss;
Fruit firmness;
Incidence of decay;
Visual quality;
Packaging condition;
Transit time;
Temperature conditions throughout the cold chain;
Returns or price reductions.

This approach helps exporters make decisions based on actual shipment data, rather than relying solely on the product’s appearance at loading.

Shift the Focus from “Packaging Cost” to “Waste Cost”

A common mistake is to evaluate postharvest technologies solely in terms of their purchase price.

For exporters, the key economic question should be:

How much does it cost to prevent a unit of loss, and what is the value of the product preserved?

For example, if an exporter can reduce even a small percentage of marketable-quality loss in a large shipment, the economic value of the product saved may be much greater than the cost of a complementary postharvest technology.

The actual savings will vary by exporter and depend on product prices, shipment volume, transport route, storage duration, destination market, and the actual level of quality loss.

AzarShid’s Recommended Approach for Kiwi Exporters

AzarShid believes postharvest solutions should be designed around the customer’s actual problem.

Rather than offering one fixed solution for every exporter, it is better to first assess each customer’s supply chain, including:

Product → Harvesting → Sorting → Packaging → Pre-cooling → Cold Storage → Transportation → Destination Market

The next step is to identify where the most significant risk occurs.

For some shipments, temperature may be the main issue.

For others, mechanical damage or disease may be more important.

In some supply chains, ethylene management or conditions inside the package may be worth considering as complementary measures.

This approach aligns with the philosophy of AzarShid – Active Postharvest Packaging Solutions: developing active-packaging solutions to support quality management and reduce postharvest losses.

An Important Point for Exporters

No packaging technology can, on its own, replace sound produce, proper harvesting, suitable sorting, a reliable cold chain, appropriate packaging, and standardized transportation.

Ethylene absorbers and other active-packaging products should therefore be evaluated as one part of a quality-management system.

Before broad implementation, their actual performance should also be assessed and tested in the context of the product, packaging type, export route, and real supply-chain conditions.

Conclusion

Export kiwifruit retains its true value when its quality is managed throughout the entire journey, from the orchard to the destination market.

The main factors affecting this journey include:

Initial product quality, proper harvesting, reduced mechanical damage, pre-cooling and cold-chain management, humidity control, ethylene management, postharvest disease control, and appropriate packaging design.

For exporters, the ultimate goal is not simply to increase “storage life.”

The real objective is to increase the proportion of product that remains marketable at the destination and reduce the economic losses associated with each shipment.

Active-packaging technologies, including ethylene absorbers, can be one of the tools used to manage this risk alongside other postharvest practices.

With a focus on Active Postharvest Packaging Solutions, AzarShid is working to develop solutions aligned with the real needs of agricultural supply chains, particularly those handling fresh-produce exports.