The next three years are an opportunity to improve the income for growers of green kiwifruit and Zespri must implement strategies to ensure this happens, says Katikati orchardist and candidate for the Zespri board Robert Knyvett.

'During the next three years, while we wait for new variety volumes to grow, the focus should be on strategies which will increase the Hayward green per tray return to at least $5.50, up from a forecast of $4.60.”

Katikati kiwifruit grower Robert Knyvett is standing for election to the Zespri board.

Robert is standing as a grower director candidate against current board chairman Peter McBride in the Zespri elections on July 24.

'Zespri is a winner when it comes to returns of $7 a tray to gold growers but $120 million a year has been lost for green growers. More green fruit needs to be moved out of Europe to the higher paying markets in Asia.”

Zespri can achieve improved returns for green growers by implementing three strategies, each worth $35million in returns. Adopting just one should raise green returns to $5.50 a tray.

Every pallet of fruit should have satellite monitors to record the temperature of fruit throughout the supply chain so that decisions could be made on which fruit to sell early and which to store for longer. The Zespri re-packing facility at Zeebrugge in Belgium costs $6million to $8 million a year and should eventually be phased out.

Improved inventory management would see four out of five pallets shipped to market already assigned to a retailer, with one destined for storage. 'We need more ‘just in time' inventory management.”

Green growers are paying too much in service costs to the post-harvest industry and if these were reduced to a flat packing rate of $1.10 that would save the industry $10 million.

Zespri's commission should also cover green promotion costs, says Robert.

'Green growers pay 95 cents per tray for promotion on a product, which earns just above $4. As a comparison, an avocado grower pays 65 cents export promotion on a product worth just below $20. Green growers could pay a commission that covers promotion costs too, saving $60 million.”

Robert is also critical of Kiwifruit New Zealand, the body set up in 1999 when legislation was enacted giving Zespri the sole right to export New Zealand Kiwifruit to all markets except Australia.

'Kiwifruit New Zealand's roles include ‘mitigating the potential costs and risks arising from the Zespri monopsony (single buyer) and that includes promoting sustained downward pressure on Zespri Group Ltd's costs'. It hasn't done that and it should be doing so.”

Robert went to Parliament to see the kiwifruit legislation enacted, but he wanted Zespri to be a co-operative in which suppliers held shares.

Currently, not all growers are shareholders and some shareholders are no longer growers, and this too needs addressing, he believes.

From being the dominant kiwifruit crop, green fruit could soon be the minority as orchards, including Robert's own, are converted to new varieties, however, Robert believes Hayward fruit will continue to be an important part of the future of the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.