Turners & Growers owes $2.5m
The debts were racked up by its Hong-Kong based partner Sun Rising, owned by father-and-son team YC and Daniel Chan.
Geoff Hipkins, chief executive of Turners & Growers, said the Chans had made claims about fruit quality which complicated the situation further.
''I'm hoping to have the whole sordid mess sorted out, probably within a fortnight'', he said.
Staff were currently in Hong Kong investigating the merits of the claims and unravelling the debt, and Hipkins said the company ''had moved heaven and earth'' to get clarity.
Other staff will hit the ground in South Africa this week to soothe the nerves of suppliers, who had reacted ''somewhat aggressively'' to the situation.
Some of the creditors have had invoices put on hold since March, but Hipkins said the proper process had to be followed before any payments could be made.
''We will be referring the sums owed to a professional debt collector in Hong Kong, which will probably then lead to legal action against the company Sun Rising.''
Enza was ''the meat in the sandwich'', he said, as it was owed money by Sun Rising, which was then in turn owed to suppliers.
However, he said creditors would get their money back once all the claims had been finalised.
Enza had a ''loose'' joint venture relationship with Sun Rising, which sold fruit, including South African citrus and grapes, into the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.
That relationship will now be terminated, Hipkins said.
Source: www.stuff.co.nz