March 31, 2015
Strategic boost for Maori in kiwifruit
Changes in the kiwifruit industry could encourage more Bay of Plenty Maori landowners to enter the industry.
Growers including Maori have overwhelmingly voted to accept a new industry strategy, including creating a Maori seat on the industry body Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated.
The strategy would retain Zespri’s Single Point of Entry monopoly for sale of fruit outside Australasia, but it would change the monopoly’s share structure to give active growers more control.
Neil Te Kani, the chair of the largest Maori processor Te Awanui Hukapak, says about 10 percent of kiwifruit in the Bay of Plenty is grown by Maori, bringing in over $100 million in revenue a year.
" We expect that to go to about 15 per cent in the very near future taking into account that probably the only productive land thats available out there is controlled in large by Maori " Neil Te Kani
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH NEIL TE KANI CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=Mjc3MDk=
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