<p>Zespri, the world's largest exporter of kiwis, is spending millions of dollars on developing a kiwifruit with either an edible or easy-peel skin, according to the Wall Street Journal. The research is also being backed by the New Zealand government, with taxpayer funding.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"When you actually look at the top 10 fruits in the world, six of the top 10 are convenience products," says Lain Jager, Chief Executive of Zespri Group Ltd. "Having a kiwifruit that you could eat in a convenient way would be fantastic."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The report indicates that so far Zespri has not been successful in redesigning this fruit. The current efforts involve crossbreeding kiwifruit vines with wild Chinese gooseberries. However, the issue of a peelable skin is one thing, but the final product must also taste good according to experts.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Zespri's crop improvement research has already had a positive impact on kiwi production. Two years ago, the company released a new variety of gold kiwifruit that is more resistant to a bacteria that caused massive crop losses in 2010.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">What will be the ultimate outcome of Zespri's breeding research? Only time will tell, but it would be exciting to see improvements to an old favorite.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.zespri.com/" target="_new"> Zespri Kiwifruit </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
