Turners & Growers has been stepping up the pressure on New Zealand kiwifruit exporter Zespri as it unveils its own new kiwifruit varieties and sends out a discussion document to Zespri growers to outline its hopes for the future of their industry.
T&G, which owns the Enza brand and has proprietary rights over Jazz and Envy apples, has just added Enza pink kiwifruit to its green, gold and red cultivars and is using its prowess in developing new varieties as a weapon in the battle to win kiwifrut growers’ hearts and minds.
The firm’s discussion document asks: “How good a job is Zespri actually doing?” It outlines several challenges to the single desk system and points out that the export monopoly was only intended as a temporary solution. T&G chairman Tony Gibbs said in the document: “It’s easy to talk a good game when you have no competitors. What Zespri cannot tell you is what returns growers would be getting for their fruit if other exporters were allowed to
compete with Zespri to buy it, whether competing exporters could get the same or better prices in export markets, because the premium is being paid for New Zealand fruit rather than
Zespri-branded fruit, what would be spent on research and development if exports were opened to competition and what new, exciting cultivars other companies might develop if they were given the chance to export their fruit. If Zespri is as good as it says, why is Zespri afraid of competition?… No-one should be forced to contract with Zespri. Growers who want to stay with Zespri can. Those who don’t should be allowed to deal with someone else.”
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