Fresh fruit and vegetable growers in New Zealand’s key Hawke’s Bay production hub will now be able to market their produce as GM-free (genetically modified), with industry stakeholders hoping the move will help them secure premium prices in global markets.

The news comes after the Hastings District Council became New Zealand’s first local council to block field trials of GM crops.

The ruling has been welcomed by Pure Hawke's Bay, a group of local producers who have campaigning for the ban over the past 15 years.

“We've put a lot of effort in, produced a lot of evidence, and I think the council was persuaded by that,” John Bostock, founding member of Pure Hawke's Bay and ownerof the Bostock Group, told Hawke’s Bay Today.

The Hawke’s Bay joins South Australia, Tasmania and selected areas of France and Italy as regions to ban GM production. Councils in Auckland, Whangarei and New Zealand’s Far North are also believed to be contemplating the introduction of similar legislation, according to Hawke’s Bay Today’s report.

Pure Hawke's Bay have suggested a number if European countries are set to ban the sale of GM products. The move is also expected to have appeal throughout Asia, where emerging middle class consumers are showing an increasing conscience for food safety.

“This is a win-win for Hastings and the wider region. We can secure our valuable GM-free status at little cost, with major economic and reputational upside,” Hawke’s Bay vegetable grower Scott Lawsontold Hawke’s Bay Today. “Returns for premium products are strong and growing. This added value for our producers reinforces the view that Hawke's Bay's economic prosperity lies with premium, uniquely pure and GM-free exports.'

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