NZKGI welcomes amendments to Kiwifruit Export Regulations

NZKGI welcomes amendments to Kiwifruit Export Regulations

11 August 2016

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. (NZKGI) welcomes today’s announcement by the Government to approve amendments to the Kiwifruit Export Regulations.

These changes will ensure a regulatory structure that supports the sustainable, long-term growth of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry into the future.

The announcement today reflects considerable effort and investment by growers into ensuring the industry has the foundations to sustain its future in good and adverse times.

NZKGI Chairman, Doug Brown, says the approved changes to the regulations are a key outcome of the of the Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project (KISP) and one which NZKGI, Zespri and other industry parties have worked hard to achieve over the past three years on behalf of kiwifruit growers.

“Essentially, these regulatory changes have put the future of Zespri into the hands of its shareholders – New Zealand’s current and future kiwifruit growers.

“Growers turned out in record numbers last year to vote in the KISP referendum, delivering a very solid mandate for the future ownership, control and structure of the industry. Two thirds of kiwifruit growers voted representing 80% of production, and of these, 91% supported the KISP propositions.

Other regulatory changes announced today achieve these KISP outcomes including aligning shareholding with producing growers, maintaining critical grower input to regulator Kiwifruit New Zealand (KNZ) through the Board’s make up and expanding the definition of Zespri’s core business.

“Aligning total production with grower shareholding will strengthen grower ownership of our industry and secure the Single Point of Entry (SPE) system that growers voted to maintain,” says Mr Brown.

“The ongoing support of our industry from the Ministry for Primary Industries, and in particular, Minister Nathan Guy, has been essential throughout the process and in achieving today’s successful outcome.”

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