Westpac NZ Becomes First Bank to Accept Zespri Shares as Lending Security
Westpac NZ has become the first New Zealand bank to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to secure and leverage kiwifruit growers' Zespri shares.
The first step is a one million tray kiwifruit initiative into four Southeast Asian countries.
The two companies a few years ago were locked in a long running legal feud, dropped in 2013 after T&G was taken over by German company BayWa the year before.
Zespri chairman Peter McBride and T&G global chair professor Klaus Josef Lutz signed the MOU this month at the fruit industry trade show Fruit Logistica in Berlin.
The first step in the new collaboration can be seen in regulatory approval of a new initiative: the two companies will work together to sell about 1 million trays of Zespri Kiwifruit in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos in the 2016 season.
"This marketing partnership will accelerate the growth in kiwifruit sales across a region with huge potential," says McBride.
"T&G will develop sales programmes for Zespri Green, Zespri SunGold and T&G products in these four Southeast Asian countries, leveraging the strength of the Zespri brand and marketing strategy with T&G's existing business expertise, distribution channels and strong product offering."
Lutz says T&G will open an office in Bangkok to represent and support the two companies' sales programmes. The new team will work together to grow sales of Zespri and T&G branded products like Jazz and Envy apples in the region; a regional manager is appointed and key account managers appointments will follow.
This collaboration is the first of its kind approved by regulator Kiwifruit NZ (KNZ) and the experience will inform future efforts. Under the Kiwifruit Regulations, Zespri is the primary exporter of NZ-grown kiwifruit beyond Australia. However, other exporters can apply to KNZ with proposals to export NZ-grown kiwifruit in collaboration with Zespri.
McBride says the recent Kiwifruit Industry Strategy Project (KISP) consultation with growers heralded a change in direction for Zespri and collaborative marketing.
"This has opened the way for Zespri to partner with companies which can offer strong coverage in new or developing regions for Zespri and increase returns to our growers."
