Fruit and vegetable growers in New Zealand have voted in favour of an industry-wide levy to address issues surrounding biosecurity, water and land use, and labour.
When voting closed last week, referendum results showed an 85 per cent support rate for the levy that is to be administered by Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ).
The referendum asked for approval for a grower levy of NZ$0.15 for every NZ$100 of sales on all fruit and vegetables to raise about NZ$2.5m (US$2.01m) a year for HortNZ to carry out work on issues such as biosecurity policy, land and water use, and seasonal labour needs. Funding will continue for the next six years.
HortNZ president Andrew Fenton underlined the need for a coordinated, industry-wide approach to certain issues facing the sector. “It is gratifying to see growers understand the value of the work done on their behalf and most importantly, the strength we all gain from having a unified voice for all growers,” he said.
“The industry faces enormous challenges now and in the next few years. So it is critical to have a unified voice if we are going to overcome these challenges and grow the industry value.”
The levy referendum for HortNZ was conducted alongside four referendums for the vegetable industry product groups Vegetables New Zealand, Potatoes New Zealand, TomatoesNZ and Processed Vegetables New Zealand. All these groups achieved strong referendum support.
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