Discussions between New Zealand fresh produce company Turners & Growers and the country's kiwifruit industry regulator Kiwifruit New Zealand over a possible collaborative marketing agreement (CMA) allowing the exporter to sell its own kiwifruit varieties overseas have broken down, it has emerged.
The talks, which have been in progress since February, were apparently suspended after the regulator deferred its decision on whether or not to approve the proposed deal, the terms of which were outlined in an application document submitted by T&G earlier in the year.
It is understood that the main sticking point relates to the possible time period involved, with the regulator believed to have taken into account concerns that were reportedly raised by export marketer Zespri over anything longer than a one-year trial on exports of ENZAGold, T&G's proprietary yellow-fleshed kiwifruit.
According to one industry insider, KNZ is eager to avoid further legal wranglings over the country's kiwifruit export regulations.
T&G, for it part, could be poised to call for a judicial inquiry into the entire collaborative marketing application process, as well as resuming its calls for Zespri's single-desk status to be dismantled, the source added.
Some 80,000-100,000 cartons of New Zealand-grown Enza Gold will be shipped this season to Australia, the only major market not governed by Zespri's statutory export agreement.
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