New Zealand’s growers have voted to continue paying their industry-wide levy.
Horticulture New Zealand’s levy referendum vote closed on 28 September showing 85 per cent support for organisation.
This confirms grower backing for continued levy funding for the next six years.
The referendum asked for approval for a grower levy of NZ$0.15 for every NZ$100 of sales on all fruit and vegetables to raise about NZ$2.5million a year for HortNZ work on industry wide issues such as bio-security policy, land and water use issues and seasonal labour needs.
HortNZ president Andrew Fenton said: “It is gratifying to see growers understand the value of the work done on their behalf and most importantly, the strength we all gain from having a unified voice for all growers.
“The industry faces enormous challenges now and in the next few years. So it’s critical to have a unified voice if we are going to overcome these challenges and grow the industry value.”
The levy referendum for Horticulture New Zealand was conducted alongside four referendums for the vegetable industry product groups Vegetables New Zealand, Potatoes New Zealand Inc, TomatoesNZ and Process Vegetables New Zealand. All these groups achieved strong positive referendum support.
