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Gold kiwifruit on vine - Source: ONE News -
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Fruit producer Turners and Growers are continuing their assault on Zespri, having filed legal action against the kiwifruit marketer.
Turners and Growers, majority owned by Guiness Peat Group, in June called on the government to end Zespri's export monopoly on kiwifruit, saying the single desk approach benefits only Zespri shareholders.
According to The New Zealand Herald, Turners and Growers filed proceedings in Auckland's High Court on Tuesday claiming that Zespri had abused its monopoly position.
The company claims Zespri has preserved its dominance via grower and post-harvest contracts, attempting to control supply to Australia, and attempting to take control of new cultivars.
Turners and Growers also claims the Kiwifruit Export Regulations 1999 conflict with the Commerce Act which protects open competition.
Zespri was formed in 1999 when the Kiwifruit Marketing Board split its regulatory and commercial operations. Zespri is the grower-owned commercial arm, owned by around 2,800 growers, and is charged with marketing and exporting kiwifruit overseas.
Turners and Growers, which in 2000 led the attack that took the apple industry's Enza company from orchardists, says that competition would give other businesses the chance to invest in the industry and explore new markets and opportunities.
It says competition could potentially increase returns by hundreds of millions of dollars.
