Turners & Growers decision not to appeal a High Court ruling in favour of Zespri has been welcomed by the kiwifruit marketer and the president of the organisation representing growers.

T&G has abandoned its appeal against the ruling in a case it first took in 2010 with company secretary Doug Bygrave reported as saying the company now wished to work collaboratively with the kiwifruit marketer.

In August 2011 the High Court in Auckland rejected five claims taken by T&G against Zespri under the Commerce Act. They were part of a long running legal battle the company had waged, aimed to bring about the de-regulation of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry and Zespri's status as the single exporter of fruit to countries other than Australia.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated president Neil Trebilco says while the issue has fallen off the radar recently in the face of the more pressing concerns over the vine disease Psa-V, the news comes as a relief to growers.

'This is good news. The industry and Zespri can now move on. I think it was always about T&G seeking to deregulate the industry. T&G now appears to have recognised the appeal was not likely to be successful.”

Zespri senior communications manager David Courtney agrees it is good news.

'In our opinion T&G's historical deregulation campaign was always about the corporate objectives of GPG and never about the best interests of either T&G suppliers or New Zealand kiwifruit growers.

'At this early stage it appears to us that T&G's new majority owners Baywa have genuine intentions to develop their fruit business and we are optimistic that this will provide a platform for an effective working relationship between the two companies.

'Zespri's focus is to grow value in the NZ kiwifruit industry by developing and marketing the world's leading portfolio of kiwifruit products.

'We see no merit in re-litigating the past in the media and our intention is to work quietly and constructively with T&G going forward,” he says.

The battle between Zespri and T&G, which has its own varieties of kiwifruit, was most bitter when Tony Gibbs was chairman.

However, in March 2012 the Munich-based agricultural and services company BayWa secured a deal with Guinness Peat Group to acquire its 63.5 per cent cornerstone stake in the fruit exporter and marketer T&G.