New Zealand kiwifruit industry regulator, Kiwifruit New Zealand (KNZ), will allow diversified agri-business Turners & Growers to sell a limited volume of its Enza Gold variety kiwifruit in selected markets in Asia.
Under the current regulatory system companies other than kiwifruit marketing giant Zespri must obtain a collaborative marketing agreement from KNZ to sell fruit outside New Zealand and Australia.
The one-year-long agreement will allow T&G to sell 60,000 trays of Enza Gold into South Korea and 30,000 trays into China and Hong Kong.
Recently appointed CEO, Geoff Hipkins, said the group had been granted collaborative marketing agreements in the past but these were the first allowing access to major markets in Asia.
The group has well-established agents in both China and Korea, said Hipkins, and fruit would be sold through retailers specified in the group’s applications for the agreements.
Hipkins said while it was disappointing the agreement was not for a longer period the group was hopeful a successful season this year would lead to continued access to these markets for Enza Gold.
Harvesting of fruit for export would begin next week, he added.
T&G has previously been at odds with Zespri over regulations limiting its exports of New Zealand-grown kiwifruit. More recently, however, following an overhaul of its top-level management, relations between the industry heavyweights, appear to have thawed.
Hipkins said he was hopeful the two could work more closely in future to grow the category and expand into new markets.
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