Challenge to Zespri control not a 'waste': lawyer

Turners and Growers Ltd says the court challenge it is making to Zespri Group Ltd's statutory grip on exports outside Australasia is not a waste of growers' money.

Turners and Growers Ltd, a subsidiary of Sir Ron Brierley's investment company GPG, last year filed proceedings against Zespri and its subsidiary Zespri International in a bid to trigger de-regulation of kiwifruit exports.

A four day hearing started today in the High Court at Auckland to consider the validity of kiwifruit export regulations giving Zespri a monopoly and whether the High Court has jurisdiction to determine if Zespri has discriminated against potential exporters or failed to allow diversification.

Counsel for Turners and Growers, Campbell Walker, told the court the case was not a waste of growers' money.

"The Prime Minister supports it and that's exactly why we're here," he said

Mr Walker told the court there was no regulation of kiwifruit exports until 1977.

"Prior to these licensing regulations you could export freely. After the 1977 regulations you had to get a licence to export," he said.

Now kiwifruit export regulations provide for export under collaborative marketing procedures, as long as prospective exporters can show their proposal is in the best interests of the nation's kiwifruit growers.

But Turners and Growers wants to export its own gold, red and sweet green kiwifruit, without having them first assessed in comparison to the returns available from rival cultivars, such as Zespri's.

Observers say Turners and Growers needs to succeed in this initial four-day court case to successfully continue a wider challenge set down for a six-week substantive hearing in the same court, beginning in May next year.

Turners and Growers has previously broken the control exercised by pipfruit growers over their own company in the wake of the deregulation of New Zealand Apple and Pear Marketing Board. In January 2003 it took over the pipfruit grower-owned company Enza.