Zespri's resigning chief financial officer Mervyn Dallas is a stalwart for grower interests and well respected in the industry, says New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc CEO Mike Chapman.

Mervyn's resignation from Zespri's top financial position was announced yesterday, and he's due to leave the position in June after 12 years with the company, the last eight as CFO.

Zespri's chief financial officer Mervyn Dallas leaves the company in June.

Mike says he does not know the reasons for Mervyn's resignation but believes they are personal.

Linking the resignation to Serious Fraud Office investigations into a customs case against Zespri in China is unfair, says Mike.

He is referring to a report by the National Business Review online report today which says:

'Mr Dallas' term as chief financial officer coincided with difficulties for Zespri with Customs duties such as Korea, China and Taiwan, leading to multi-million dollar fines for Zespri and a prison conviction of a subsidiary employee.”

However, Mervyn's said his resignation was totally unrelated to these factors, NBR Online reported.

Mervyn is not available for comment but Zespri CEO Lain Jager, currently overseas, has released a statement saying Mervyn has the respect and support of the industry.

'Merv announced his resignation to staff and the wider kiwifruit community yesterday. He has given 12 years of service to the kiwifruit industry and is deeply respected throughout the industry by all participants,” says Lain.

'Merv has been key to the successes of the industry over that period, which has seen the highest-ever green returns delivered to growers this year, gold returns reach over $100,000 a hectare and Zespri almost doubling its global sales revenue to over $1.5 billion.

'He also played a tremendous role in the industry's recovery from Psa, acting as a lynchpin in maintaining the confidence of investors in the industry to have faith in its ability to overcome the disease.

'Given what he has achieved in his 12 years, Merv's decision to leave and seek new opportunities makes absolute sense and he will go with a huge amount of support and best wishes from those who have worked closely with him during his time here,” says Lain.

Mervyn will leave Zespri in June and the recruitment process for his replacement will begin immediately.

Mike says Mervyn has always put grower's interests foremost and has been willing and able to explain the complexities of grower payments to growers and NZKGI.

'I can't speak highly enough of what he has done to protect growers' interest. He has the respect of staff and many growers.”

Part of Mervyn's role has been handling the complex Forex issues, including hedging to protect grower returns from the full impact of foreign exchange fluctuations and the strength of the New Zealand dollar.

'In some cases that has been worth an addition $1 a tray which is significant.”

Mervyn joined Zespri as Group Financial Controller in 2002 when Zespri moved its head office to Tauranga.

In December 2005 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer, responsible for the overall finance and information services functions of the Zespri Group of Companies.

Before moving to Zespri, he worked for the SkyCity Group as General Manager of Finance, initially in Auckland and then in Adelaide. He also has experience in shipping, commercial banking and the hospitality industry.

Mervyn is a chartered accountant and has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland.