I recently bought a batch of firm-skinned, flavourless kiwis on sale at the local corner greengrocer. That part, however, was the only local thing about it. I noticed the kiwis were from Italy and though I was surprised by this, I shouldn't have been, as Italy has pulled ahead of the kiwi's namesake nation in terms of production volume: Italy with around 260,000 tonnes, accounts for 35% of the market; New Zealand, with just under 240,000 tonnes, 32%.

I'm used to getting smaller, organic kiwifruit with a lot more flavour, but they still come from abroad- I believe generally from Mexico or California which certainly means slightly less travel time, but they are still far from local, even though we do have hothouses that grow them in BC. Is it just a matter of the Italian imports being cheaper to bring in than ripe, local fruit? We pay the price in flavour, certainly, I realize again and again.

Another note on the high cost of low prices: http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2009/03/politics-of-the-plate-the-price-of-tomatoes?currentPage=1