Kiwifruit marketer Zespri International has strenuously denied allegations it is deliberately setting out to exclude Chilean kiwifruit from the South Korean market by establishing exclusivity deals with customers in the north-east Asian country, following reports to that effect in other trade media earlier this week.
Speaking to Eurofruit, a spokesperson for the company insisted: "There is no plan to displace Chilean kiwifruit in South Korea."
Last year, New Zealand-based Zespri signed a deal with South Korean discount market leader E Mart which saw it become the retailer's exclusive supplier of kiwifruit year-round, sourcing both from within South Korea itself and from its own domestic export supply base.
The hypermarket and supermarket operator, which achieved sales of US$8.7bn in 2010, previously sourced kiwifruit via an independent category management firm.
While denying a deliberate policy of excluding other kiwifruit suppliers from deals signed in South Korea, the spokesperson did confirm that Zespri is in talks with other potential customers in the country.
"Given the success of this arrangement, other retail channels in Korea have expressed an interest in working with Zespri to provide the best quality kiwifruit to their customers," the spokesperson said.
"Zespri is currently exploring a number of these opportunities, but none have been confirmed so it would be premature for us to comment.
"Zespri sells alongside Chilean kiwifruit in all markets globally. There is no plan to displace Chilean kiwifruit in South Korea. Globally all customers are concerned with food quality and Zespri’s strategy is to continue to focus on providing the best quality kiwifruit."
But Murray Malone of New Zealand-based exporter Turners & Growers told Fresh Fruit Portal his group was "extremely concerned" about what they saw as a clear attempt to block Chilean kiwifruit from South Korean supply deals.
"We are extremely concerned about the tactics of Zespri in its attempts to block Chilean kiwifruit from the lucrative Korean market," he told the news website. "Recent moves to secure exclusive supply deals with two of Korea’s largest supermarkets have shut out Chilean kiwifruit."
He added: "This is not because of any issue with price or quality – but rather that Zespri is using a privileged position to tie up exclusive arrangements with customers and take a monopoly position in this market."
