The statement came as the exporter announced one of its growers has become the first top-fruit producer in New Zealand to be awarded full certification under the European retailer partnership standard for good growing practices.

Waima Holdings of Napier worked closely with Enza on the certification process. 'I don't view the time or money spent as a cost, but as an investment. If New Zealand wants to stay abreast of our Southern Hemisphere competitors, then we must adopt changes quickly to stay at the forefront of the global pipfruit industry,' said Waima's Mark Ericksen. '...Safe food production, environmental, and social responsibilities are at the forefront of the consumers minds and the longer we ignore these issues, the further we will fall behind not only in demand, but also dollars.' Enza spokesperson Kylie Hawker said that Enza is very pleased to receive confirmation of Waima's certification.

'We appreciate that the Eurep-Gap accreditation process is comprehensive, and can place added demands on growers in both time and cost,' said Hawker. 'We are encouraging our growers to view Eurep-Gap certification as an achievable business development process. It is a vital component of being able to supply our product into the European, UK & US markets from next year onwards. As such, Enza views grower certification as critical, not optional.' The exporter is holding grower workshops to give suppliers an outline of the programme's requirements. Enza is also organising field-days at Waima over the coming months where growers will be able to assess the implementation requirements for Eurepgap. From 2003, Enza will require all its growers supplying fruit for the European market to be Eurep-Gap certified.

Topics