Grower association holds special event to mark anniversary of vital industry restructuring and the creation of export brand Zespri
New Zealand’s single-desk model for kiwifruit export marketing is “something magic and must be protected,” according to one of the country’s longest-standing growers.
Hendrik Pieters was speaking ahead of a special event to mark what New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated (NZKGI) calls a “trifecta of milestones” for an industry that has achieved remarkable success in the past few decades.
That success has been in stark contrast to the dark moments it experienced before the introduction of its preset-day structure.
The event, a gala dinner for growers past and present, takes place on 22 October at Mercury Baypark in Tauranga.
It will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the single-desk structure, the 30th anniversary of grower advocacy organisation NZKGI, and the 25th anniversary of the Kiwifruit Industry Restructuring Act, which led to the creation of export marketer Zespri.
“The path to today’s success for New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry has been anything but plain sailing,” NZKGI said in a statement.
“The story of our iconic piece of kiwiana began in the early 1900’s when a small number of orchards were formed, however it wasn’t until the 1960’s when the commercial kiwifruit industry really started to take off.”
Many of the growers from that time were instrumental in creating the backbone of the industry as it stands today.
Pieters was one of those growers. He recalls the early days when he was in his twenties, developing kiwifruit blocks and later joining the Te Puke Fruitgrowers Association.
By the 1980s, production was booming. “There was a lot of discussion about marketing and exporters, and I formed views on the need for change. Growers were at the beck and call of exporters and retailers and I believed growers should have more control over marketing, as well as growing,” he says.
With an abundance of kiwifruit and declining demand overseas, the Kiwifruit Marketing Board was set up with the power to buy all kiwifruit for export. This year marks the 35th anniversary of that structure.
“In 1992 and 1993, kiwifruit had to be dumped when the Kiwifruit Marketing Board set prices too high,” the NZKGI statement continues. “Growers had enormous debt and concern and something needed to change.”
Hendrik himself played a lead role in getting growers to agree to form a working party to champion their interests. In 1994, it became NZKGI, an organisation that today represents around 2,800 kiwifruit growers.
Five years later, the Kiwifruit Industry Restructuring Act established the Kiwifruit Marketing Board’s commercial operations, Zespri, as a company with shares tradable amongst producers.
Hendrik believes the NZ kiwifruit industry has not achieved its successes, including a remarkable recovery from vine disease Psa-V, by mistake. “The Zespri model we have is something magic and must be protected”, he says.
