The trans-Tasman access for New Zealand fruit issue will show just how pro-free trade the Australian government is, according to NZ apple-grower-exporter Mr Apple.

"Unless the Australian government commits by mid-2005 to New Zealand apples to be sold there, the world will know that it is unfit to be a member of the Cairns group seeking to lower agricultural protection," a director of New Zealand’s largest apple grower told the NZ press at the company’s agm this week. "If the Australian government fails to allow our apples in on reasonable terms, we will have no choice but to go straight to the World Trade Organisation," Grant Sinclair said.

Mr Apple's orchards produced 1.48 million cartons of apples in 2004, 7.6 per cent more than in 2003.

But average returns dropped from $NZ22 a carton in 2003 to NZ$18 a carton in 2004, slicingy NZ$6m of earnings and reducing the June year surplus after tax to NZ$1.75m, down $NZ6.9m on 2003.

Mr Apple is New Zealand's biggest grower, packer and exporter of apples - its parent company also has extensive interests in cold storage and shipping - and as such would be a major beneficiary of any opening in the Australian market.

Trade minister Jim Sutton said in October that he preferred to work on the apple access issue with senior Australian ministers who had kept a "prudent silence" during the recent Australian election campaign.

He played down the possibility of taking Australia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), whose disputes body ruled late last year in a case involving Japan and the US that the chance of mature apples carrying fireblight is negligible.

New Zealand and Australia were third parties to the decision.