Kiwifruit is native to north-central and eastern China.[1] Cultivation of the fuzzy kiwifruit spread from China in the early 20th century to New Zealand, where the first commercial plantings occurred.[1] Although kiwifruit is a national fruit of China, until recently, China was not a major producing country of kiwifruit, as it was traditionally collected from the wild.[10]
The fruit became popular with American servicemen stationed in New Zealand during World War II and later exported to California using the names "Chinese gooseberry" and "melonette".[1][7][1] In 1962, New Zealand growers began calling it "kiwifruit" to give it more market appeal, and a California-based importer subsequently used that name when introducing the fruit to the American market.[1]