New Zealand kiwifruit growers will return to the polling booths over the next month, as the Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project (KISP) nears its completion.
Between 20 February and 20 March, growers will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum on whether to adopt a series of recommendations, which have now been finalised by the KISP committee. According to the committee’s independent chairman, Neil Richardson, the recommendations are aimed at developing a framework for sustained growth and stability within the sector.
“The industry is on the cusp of a significant growth phase and our focus is rightly fixed on the opportunities and challenges this presents,” Richardson explained. “However, in such a positive environment the temptation can be to drive for growth without consideration of the building blocks that will sustain your future when the growth inevitably peaks and starts to ebb. KISP is the opportunity to proactively evolve your industry structure to ensure it underpins and drives the industry’s growth through both good and adverse times.”
Key points outlined in the recommendations include retaining a single point of entry, or more pointedly Zespri, as the industry’s export marketing structure and changing the constitution governing the composition of Zespri’s board so that there are a minimum of three independent directors at all time. Another proposal is to restrict grower shareholdings in Zespri to a ratio of 4:1 in relation to the number of trays they supply for export.
The recommendations were originally drafted by the committee then altered following a series of ‘roadshow’ meetings held across the country’s key production regions. Growers then had until mid January to provide formal feedback on the amended recommendations.
