National kiwi exporters are to intensify their claims against New Zealand's Zespri. The President of the Association of Fruit Exporters (Asoex), Ronald Bown, said that "Zespri's monopolistic approach, endorsed by the Government of New Zealand, has created a commercial dependency that has led to an increase of New Zealand kiwi, affecting its main competitor in the southern hemisphere: Chile."
The union leader said that, in addition to the concerns that they communicated to the Directorate of International Economic Relations of the Chancellery (Direcon), they will seek to denounce the situation in international organizations defending free trade, such as the Asia Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), and the Trans-Pacific Economic Cooperation Agreement (TPP), of which both Chile and New Zealand are members.
"The Government of New Zealand shouldn't participate in an instance in which they must comply with regulations aimed at defending free competition because it supports a monopolistic attitude in kiwis," Bown said. The trade union leader said the company had used unethical tools, which have restricted the entry of Chilean kiwifruit in the main supermarkets in Asian countries. "This has already been proved, at least in Korea, where Zespri was already fined, and we understand they've also had a similar behavior in Japan, where there is a legal action filed. There are also indications that they are carrying out these actions in United States," Bown said.
The Chairman of the Kiwi Committee, Carlos Cruzat, said Zespri "must compete as equals. They have a great product, and they don't need to exert undue pressure." He added that "the prices they demand from consumers are higher where they have a greater market concentration, which means they make consumers pay more for their benefit. European consumers pay much less in comparison to Asia, where Zespri exerts anti-competitive practices."
The Union leaders said that top executives of the firm had visited Chile to address the situation, but that they haven't taken any actions to reduce these practices.
Source: El Mercurio