There's a harvest underway in the Bay of Plenty of a small, smooth-skinned green fruit with a sweet surprise inside – cut an Arguta in half and a miniature version of its much larger kiwifruit cousin is revealed.

That's why the fruit is called KiwiBerry. They are part of the wider kiwifruit family, only smaller and are available in supermarkets and fruit shops in New Zealand now.

The bite sized fruit, two green and a red variety, have a very short harvest season – from mid-February to late March, and are air freighted to markets around the world.

New Zealand KiwiBerry Growers Association chairman Geoff Oliver says the fruit are very popular with children because of their sweet taste and ease of eating. They're also a hit with adults and can be used in smoothies, salads, savoury and sweet dishes, in baking, for making jam and especially for decorating pavlova.

But the delicate fruit, which is still a novelty for many New Zealanders, needs careful handling from picking through to retail.

'KiwiBerries grow in clusters and must be picked with care and the stems removed,” says Geoff, who has been growing the fruit for around 12 years and is a director of Kiwi Produce at Paengaroa which packs KiwiBerries for local growers.

Packing is a slower process than with conventional kiwifruit and Kiwi Produce has a team of experienced packers trained in quality control and handling the fruit, including packing them into small punnets for export and local market.

'Production of KiwiBerries in New Zealand is increasing and there are concerns about an over-supply in the market which could affect grower returns.”

'It's a high-cost crop to grow. The vines are very vigorous and winter pruning can cost between $20,000 and $40,000 a hectare compared to green kiwifruit at between $5,000 and $6,000 a hectare. The costs of picking are also higher as pickers are paid by the hour because it is slow work.”

Packing and freight charges also add to the costs of production. 'However, in a good season, returns per hectare are somewhere near the returns earned by green kiwifruit growers.”

Worryingly this season, fruit in some orchards has 'aborted”, dropping onto the ground before harvest.

'We're not entirely sure why but it's upsetting for growers to lose fruit at this late stage.”

KiwiBerries, available in New Zealand from now until early April, contain 20 vital nutrients including higher levels of Vitamin C than an orange, double the Vitamin E of an avocado and more potassium than a banana.

To find out more about KiwiBerries go to www.nzkiwiberry.com

Praisri Nicholson carefully sorting KiwiBerry for packing at the Kiwi Produce packhouse at Paengaroa.