Guinness Peat Group subsidiary Turners and Growers Ltd says it has been set a November 1 start date for legal action in the High Court at Auckland against the grower-owned company Zespri Group.Turners and Growers and its own subsidiaries, Turners and Gr
Guinness Peat Group subsidiary Turners and Growers Ltd says it has been set a November 1 start date for legal action in the High Court at Auckland against the grower-owned company Zespri Group.
Turners and Growers and its own subsidiaries, Turners and Growers Horticulture Ltd and Enza Ltd will have up to five weeks to sort through their case against Zespri Group Ltd.
Turners said last night that it will claim:
* The Kiwifruit Export Regulations 1999 are inconsistent with the Commerce Act 1986, and the Bill of Rights Act 1990;
* Zespri has abused its dominant position to preserve its monopoly outside Australasia;
* Zespri has unlawfully paid more to growers who sign exclusive supply agreements;
* Zespri has carried on businesses prohibited by the Kiwifruit Export Regulations.
Tony Gibbs, head of Guinness Peat Group which owns 66 percent of Turners, has argued that Zespri's single-desk exports beyond Australasia potentially constrain opportunities for other kiwifruit growers.
Turners is keen to grow in New Zealand an Enza-branded red kiwifruit it has harvested in Sichuan, China.
It is propagating red kiwifruit plants at Kerikeri and will have the variety ready for grafting in New Zealand in next year.
To legally export the red kiwifruit from New Zealand to markets outside Australia, Turners and Growers would need a collaborative agreement with Zespri.
But it does not want to wait for a science-based assessment of its fruit, such as those Zespri uses to decide which of its cultivars should be marketed.
The company needs to decide this year on a predominant growing region for the cultivar, but has said Zespri's control of exports means it must investigate other Southern Hemisphere sites.
The company has previously called on the Government to strip Zespri of its monopoly status, but growers have expressed concern that multiple exporters would undercut each other in global markets.
Instead, Zespri provides collaborative programmes for marketing fruit from other companies.
Currently the Zespri brand markets green, gold and organic fruit and is believed to be close to releasing new green and gold varieties. Although a red variety is being researched by Plant and Food, scientists have said it does not yet meet Zespri's high quality and production standards.
The Government last year announced a $37 million cash injection by growers and taxpayers into accelerating the development of novel cultivars of kiwifruit.
Zespri innovation leader Bryan Parkes said the grower-owned company had 50,000 potential new cultivars at the seedlings stage, over 50 cultivars in clonal trials, and four cultivars in pre-commercial block trials, but the key issue was the quality of the cultivars.
The major factor driving the timing of releases was the time it took to understand the commercial potential of a new cultivar, with clonal trials, and pre-commercial block trials.
To skip such testing and commercialise directly would create a high chance of market failure, according to Mr Parkes.
