Act Party enters kiwifruit battle

Tony Gibbs says industry rules need to keep pace with changes. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Turners & Growers' attempt to force change in the kiwifruit industry gained political muscle yesterday with the introduction of a bill by the Act Party.

The NZX-listed fresh produce company said Act had lodged a private member's bill to enable owners of kiwifruit plant variety rights, or licensees of those rights, to export fruit without restriction.

Turners & Growers' chairman, Tony Gibbs, said the Kiwifruit Industry Restructuring (Plant Variety Rights) Amendment Bill was a key step in removing the "hypocrisy" of the Kiwifruit Regulations.

Under industry regulations, Zespri controls exports to countries other than Australia. T&G wants to be able to export without restriction its own kiwifruit varieties internationally.

"We've led the kiwifruit industry here in identifying innovative new varieties as the way of the future, we've got the first red in commercial production, a premium gold variety and the new Summerkiwi also established. We need the rules updated to keep pace," Gibbs said.

The industry is waiting for the outcome of a hearing in the High Court at Auckland last month to determine whether industry regulations were unlawful and if the High Court had jurisdiction to decide whether Zespri had breached regulations.

Government action to ensure fair and open competition in the dairy industry showed the hypocrisy of the kiwifruit regulations, Gibbs said.

Zespri director corporate and grower services Carol Ward said the ownership and control of Zespri was in the hands of growers within a structure chosen more than 20 years ago.

"A recent Colmar Brunton survey of growers showed 90 per cent supported the industry structure and 93 per cent supported Zespri's performance," she said.

"The collaborative nature of our industry allows for significant investment in market-led research and development to maintain the world's largest kiwifruit breeding programme and our position as the world leader in premium quality kiwifruit. The industry has a significant track record of achieving growth, building the value of Zespri kiwifruit export earnings to $1.07 billion in under 10 years and we plan to continue this growth to achieve $3 billion by 2025."

Collaborative marketing with 16 other exporters, including T&G, to countries other than Australia accounted for about 2 per cent of the crop volume.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc has said it is critical the current structure is retained for the financial wellbeing of growers in the industry.

T&G is running a series of billboards to highlight the Government's difficulty with allowing a private company a state-sanctioned monopoly, thus outlawing competition. Gibbs said: "We need Kiwifruit Regulations that encourage innovation and competition."