Editorial: Prejudice hurdle in access war

New Zealand's pipfruit industry gathers today in Hastings for its national conference with cricketing legend Sir Richard Hadlee speaking at tonight's dinner at the Hawke's Bay Opera House.
Sir Richard has been promoting our apples in India and the growers, distributors and guests will be keen to hear his insights into what is a vast market for our industry.
But it is another vast country, a heck of a lot closer to us, that will be top of mind over the next two days - Australia.
The Australian government lifts the decades-old import restrictions on New Zealand apples on August 17 after a long and often bitter fight for access by our growers and government - a battle that began here in the Bay.
The Pipfruit New Zealand conference occurs right between ongoing protests by furious Australian apple growers and the August 17 green light.
Growers in Victoria held a mass rally last week, repeating their warnings that the Australian industry would be crippled if apples from New Zealand introduce fire blight disease. Supermarkets are refusing to stock our apples.
The growers even lit a giant bonfire of dead fruit trees at the Shepparton showgrounds to symbolise the fate they fear awaits them.
It is more of the same scaremongering and false allegations from an Australian industry that has enjoyed protection by its government to a level unheard of in New Zealand for years.
The Australian growers know in their heart of hearts that the World Trade Organisation's ruling last year that Australia's import ban on New Zealand apples was scientifically unjustified was a sound one.
Biosecurity Australia is lifting import restrictions under a number of conditions aimed at preventing fire blight's transportation.
What the Australian growers truly fear is not fire blight but competition. New Zealand has more and better apple varieties that Australian consumers are very likely to take a shine to - if they get to taste them.
The Aussie growers also fear that access for New Zealand apples will open the gates to even more international competition.
New Zealand pipfruit growers meet today in the knowledge they now have apple access to Australia but it still remains a long road to establish our fruit in a market prone to prejudice.