Te Puke kiwifruit grower and Horticulture New Zealand president and chair Andrew Fenton yesterday announced his intention not to seek reappointment as president following HortNZ's annual general meeting in late July.

Andrew, who has been president and chair since HortNZ was established in 2005, says he is 'very proud of what HortNZ had achieved over the past eight years” and it is now time for new leadership.

Andrew Fenton is stepping down as president of Horticulture New Zealand.

'It has been a real team effort and we could not have achieved what we have without the strong support of our grower members.

'We started with a strong foundation established by the Fruitgrowers Federation and Vegfed and have built on that in a very positive and powerful way for growers.”

Andrew will continue to serve on the board (his current term expires in 2015) to support the new president who will be elected by the eight grower board members following the AGM on July 30.