The expected merger next month of post-harvest companies Apata and Aerocool is the latest phase in the major restructuring the kiwifruit industry has undergone in response to Psa.
Following the merger of EastPack and Satara earlier in the year, the latest amalgamation indicates companies are taking advantage of the downturn to increase efficiencies and position themselves for expanded volumes over the next couple of years.
"The pressure on the post-harvest sector at the moment has probably not been this intense since the early 1990s," said Apata managing director Stuart Weston.
Neil Trebilco, president of New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers, said: "The mergers are defensive to some degree. But companies are also thinking about the future, when we expect kiwifruit gold volumes to rapidly increase."
Mr Trebilco said that, while Psa had been difficult, it was likely to make the industry leaner and meaner. "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Because of reducing volumes, post-harvest companies have been competing hard with each other for crop. They have to cut their own costs to make it work."