Italy is the top producer (or at least exporter) or Chinese Gooseberry/Kiwifruit in the world (followed by NZ).
The fruit is native to China, but also parts of Europe. It was introduded to NZ early in the 20th Century and according to wiki, was first exported from NZ - the name "kiwifruit" was chosen in preference to Chinese Gooseberry for various reasons, but it has been a great Marketing story and many might think of it as originating from NZ...
...now those pesky Kiwis have been claiming the Pavlova as their own...but we all know it was created in Australia!
