New Zealand-based Zespri has hit back at calls by fellow kiwifruit group Turners & Growers (T&G) that it is time to challenge the group's monopoly on selling kiwifruit internationally, saying that there were opportunities for T&G to export 'significant volumes' of fruit under the current system.
At T&G's annual meeting last week, chairman Tony Gibbs had described Zespri's dominance of kiwifruit exports outside of Australasia as an 'outdated monopoly', calling for a revamp of New Zealand's long-standing single desk export system.
However, Zespri's director of grower and corporate services Carol Ward told local media that export groups who would benefit local growers would be welcome to export large volumes through collaborative marketing agreements.
'It's about being able to demonstrate that there's real value to be gained through those programmes,' Ms Ward told stuff.co.nz. 'We absolutely embrace all operators and exporters who are able to add value back to grower returns.'
T&G recently had three applications to export a total of 340,000 trays of kiwifruit to Japan, Mexico and the US turned down by Kiwifruit NZ (all of which were opposed by Zespri) on the grounds that the proposals could result in the substitution of New Zealand-grown Zespri kiwifruit, along with the fact that T&G had not consulted with Zespri enough on the proposals.
Peter Ombler, president of Kiwifruit Growers, told the publication that growers were still strongly backing the current system and that he felt T&G exporting large volumes of kiwifruit from the country would not benefit the industry.
Zespri was awarded single-desk export status in 1999 following anindustry restructure, meaning only Zespri or New Zealand exporters withcollaborative contracts can sell kiwifruit in export markets outside ofAustralia.
The single-desk system has been in place in the country's kiwifruitindustry since 1987, having been introduced by growers to combatperceived overseas undercutting by exporters that in turn reducedorchard returns.
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