New Zealand's Turners and Growers has decided to put its domestic flower auction business on the market because it wants to refocus on the top-fruit sector, reports Radio New Zealand.

The fruit and vegetable firm says the FloraMax business is only domestically focused and flowers are not one of its core products.

Earlier this year the German company BayWa secured a 73 per cent stake in the firm, and it was expected the European company's scale and market access would boost its New Zealand exports.

Turners and Growers chief executive Geoff Hipkins says the company is completing a strategic review and will start feeling the effect of the BayWa influence in the next six months.

He said BayWa's longer-term strategic vision will give Turners and Growers the security to invest in more markets.

Hipkins said Turners wanted to release some cash from its non-core assets and is also considering selling some other small parts of its operations.

He added that the exchange rate was a real concern over the next six to 12 months because of the company's export orientation, though offshore ownership has some advantages, because it might not be necessary to convert all of the euros back into New Zealand currency.

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