NEW ZEALAND

Outlook for Kiwi Production Is Bleak: New Zealand, the country that developed the kiwi fruit into an international product, may be squeezed out of the market by foreign competition, the Ministry of Agriculture warned in its annual report. The report said things are looking bleak for wool and kiwi exports but dairy and sheep meat products, venison and wines hold more export promise. The ministry questioned whether the $540-million kiwi industry has any future at all. New Zealand finds itself competing with heavy production in France, Chile and Italy--now the world’s largest producer of kiwi. In the 1992 season, kiwi prices fell to a record $2.09 a tray, leaving the Kiwifruit Marketing Board with debt of $45.6 million because of its inability to sell the export crop.