In regard to the November 10 article on Sunlive called ‘Growers can change industry', my husband and I are kiwifruit growers of some 24 years so have experienced many ups and downs (one of those downs was during the multi-desk exporters days), in the kiwifruit industry and have chosen to be fully shared up growers.
The comments by Ted Mead and Ross Hart (of the Independent Kiwifruit Growers Association), about Zespri shareholders being exclusive beneficiaries of the brand name and new varieties are a play on reality. Only growers can be shareholders, no-one can force you to be either, but to moan you are not is no-one's fault but your own, as there have been many, and still are, opportunities for growers to be shareholders.
Taxpayers funds are used by many private companies as start-up grants, government bail-outs etc, but they are still privately-owned companies.
Grower funds were used as promissory notes in the initial stages to get working capital for Zespri and they were later translated into shares. So growers have absolutely funded, by far, the majority of research and development and set-up costs of today's industry.
Even Psa-V Government-funded assistance was dollar for dollar. Our Industry returns to taxpayers many times over, by way of taxes and jobs etc.
If growers have chosen not to support a grower-owned system in the past, for whatever reason, that is purely their own choice. The 25 per cent of growers owning 75 per cent of Zespri is also a play on figures and a twisting of the truth to suit a purpose. Those 25 per cent of growers produce 72 per cent of the crop, so are shared up according to their production.
They can only vote on their average three-year volume of export trays. They do not control or own the industry, but they have chosen to support the system by being a shareholder.
To suggest New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc president Neil Trebilco has sole power to disregard submissions to the Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project, he personally does not like, is ridiculous. All submissions will be put before a panel, who determine the merits of each and any outcome will be agreed by a democratic process.
The IKGA need to declare their level of actual grower support with a factual account of associated members, meetings with recorded minutes, AGMs etc. They also need to declare their intentions behind all of these attacks on an industry, that according to all factual able-to-be-presented records, has the vast majority of growers support. Otherwise, shut up and stop trying to destroy my income.
L McKenzie, Paengaroa.

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