ald Bown, President of the Association of Exporters of Fruits of Chile AG (Asoex), has criticised Zespri for anti-competitive marketing practises, supported by the New Zealand government. He has said that Zespri's practices have had an impact on consumers and the global kiwifruit industry, and in particular, Chile.He said that the 'Single Point of Entry' structure has meant that they are in charge of kiwi exports to every market, with the exception of Australia. As a result, the company controls around 30% of the global market volume and around 60% of the value, negatively affecting producers and marketing opportunities for other kiwi producing countries like Italy, France and Greece.
"None of Zespri's competitors in the world have the opportunity to benefit from that kind of privilege, due to the commitment of their governments, as is the case with Chile, for free trade. It would be unthinkable in this day and age that the WTO would give a similar trade agreement to any state like the one that the New Zealand government has and defends." said Ronald Bown.
Moreover, Bown found it 'incomprehensible' that these practices still exist and that countries that support them are allowed to participate in agreements that support free trade, as is the case of the TPP (Trans-Pacific Economic Cooperation Agreement).
"We believe that no country supporting monopolistic activities, which hinders other countries, should be allowed to be a part of the TPP until they come up with some quick solutions to resolve the conflict," Bown continued.
“In addition, we think that Zespri has so much power, thanks to this conditional privilege, which allows it to employ unfair practices, that even if these were eliminated, there would still be negative effects on free competition for fruit for many years.”
Along with the issue of free trade, Bown also said that consumers also pay. The lack of availability from other markets forces them to pay higher prices and be faced with lower supplies.
A spokeswoman from Zespri released the following statement in response to the recent press release from Asoex;
"Consumers and customers around the world have a wide variety of choice about the fruit they buy and consume and Zespri Kiwifruit provides a premium quality, healthy, tasty option. Sales are set to grow strongly, as more and more people choose the great taste and consistent quality of our healthy products,"
"Zespri is proudly owned by NZ kiwifruit growers and our structure complies with international WTO laws."
