NZ apple and pear growers have started voting on a levy to fund crucial research.

The commodity levy needs to be renewed to continue providing industry body Pipfruit NZ with funds for the next six years for research into new cultivars and production systems with low chemical residues.

Voting was postponed so that this year's harvest figures could be used to determine the weighting of growers' votes, and will now close on July 28.

"Our industry will not survive if it continues to rely on common bulk varieties such as Royal Gala and Braeburn," Pipfruit NZ ceo Peter Beaven said. An independent report commissioned by Pipfruit NZ found that a levy was the most appropriate way to meet the industry's needs, he added.

The organisation has budgeted on receiving NZ$2.9 million (£977,000) in levy funds this year and will spend NZ$2.2m of it directly on R&D.

Of the NZ$2.2m, NZ$900,000 has been invested in international commercial development company Prevar. Pipfruit NZ's investment in the breeding programme is expected to leverage a further NZ$7.2m of Foundation for Research Science & Technology money over six years. And an additional NZ$1.3m of other research spent by Pipfruit NZ is expected to raise a further NZ$2.76 million of research money from government sources.

Meanwhile, Beaven told the NZ press the New Zealand export crop for 2006 was down about 18 per cent on last year at just over 14m cases. Royal Gala has sold well in Europe particularly and sales of Braeburn are “satisfactory”, he added.

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