Zespri chairman John Loughlin spoke out strongly at the kiwifruit marketing group’s agm today against efforts to break up the single point of entry (SPE) system for New Zealand kiwifruit.
He was responding to moves by one-per-cent shareholder Turners & Growers to sue Zespri.
Loughlin said: “The SPE structure has proven its success with a compound annual revenue growth rate of eight per cent over the past 10 years. Kiwifruit now makes up over 45 per cent of horticultural exports from NZ, excluding wine, and over two-thirds of fresh fruit export value…. You have seen the latest from Turners & Growers. It seems they’re now planning legal action against Zespri and possibly New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated and the government… Rest assured this is another tactic in their ongoing campaign and it was not unexpected…
"Zespri is widely recognised as NZ’s most successful fruit export exporter and the world’s most successful horticultural marketer and that is for very good reason; we continue to deliver value to NZ growers, the industry as a whole and the NZ economy.”
The Turners & Growers representative at the meeting made no comment, even when invited to do so by the chairman.
Also announced at the agm were the record-breaking production of 100 million trays of NZ kiwifruit in the 2008-09 season and a dividend that rose 22 per cent on the previous year. Zespri also announced an expansion of the group’s new cultivar breeding and evaluation programme that will require a further 13.5 hectares across the country for delivery.
And ceo Lain Jager said that Zespri will work to grow its business and “focus strongly on developing secondary markets such as the UK, Italy, France and the US”.
