Kiwifruit parties call on legal experts in deregulation stoush

Kiwifruit exporter Zespri has employed a QC and listed challenger Turners & Growers is ramping up its efforts to acquire two confidential industry reports as their deregulation battle continues.

Bay of Plenty-based Zespri, which has the statutory right to export all kiwifruit except to Australia, said it had appointed David Goddard, QC, in response to legal action started against it by Turners.

Turners, a fresh produce grower, distributor and exporter led by Guinness Peat Group's Tony Gibbs, has called on the Government to deregulate the $1.2 billion kiwifruit export industry, citing abuses of market power, lost opportunities and the potential loss of millions of R&D investment dollars. It has also filed proceedings in the High Court at Auckland alleging the dominant exporter has breached its regulations and the Commerce Act.

Lawyer Campbell Walker appeared in the High Court for Turners last week. The court confirmed that Turners should serve a copy of proceedings on the Attorney-General and the national kiwifruit growers group NZKGI, Walker said. The next stage is a legal conference on September 24.

Turners has had several "collaborative marketing" applications rejected this year. Collaborative marketing provides for Zespri to join with an independent on an export deal - as long as it benefits all growers. Applications are heard by the industry regulator Kiwifruit New Zealand. Zespri can make representations.

Turners is responsible for about 1 per cent of annual kiwifruit production, according to Zespri.

Gibbs said Turners was being frustrated over access to a 2006 report by Grant Samuel, commissioned by growers as part of a review of Zespri's margin, and to a report from a 2007 independent survey of growers, commissioned by Zespri.

Growers' president Peter Ombler said his group was not legally obliged to release the Grant Samuel document which was "incomplete and commercially sensitive".

A Zespri spokeswoman said the exporter's "high level of transparency" did not include releasing internal documents on commercial matters.

Ombler said his group was seeking further legal advice on Turners' request and might employ a QC.