Ōpōtiki grower wins 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award
Brett Wotton, an Eastern Bay of Plenty kiwifruit grower and harvest contractor, has won the 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award for his work to support lifting fruit quality across the industry.
The aim of the trial is to try and control the amount of illegally grown Zespri Gold 3 in China. Some years ago, a New Zealand based Chinese national illegally sold cuttings of Gold 3 to growers in China and now it's estimated that there is about 4,500 hectares of the fruit throughout that country.
Zespri's chief innovation and sustainability officer Carol Ward says the organisation is concerned at the level of spread of unauthorised Gold 3 in China and has been looking at ways to try and stop this.
"We have been working with our experts and advisors up in China to understand what is required to be able to stop this," she told Rural News. "We have tried legal and political routes and had commercial discussions. But we have not been able to [reduce] that spread of Gold 3 in China."
Part of the problem appears to be the fact that the Chinese see growing kiwifruit as a pathway to reducing poverty in rural China. Ward says all the advice from their experts, and from their Chinese partners, suggests that they should work with the Chinese on this issue and build a commercial partnership with their growers.
Ward believes this will give Zespri the best opportunity to bring a quality, Chinese fruit to the market under the Zespri brand.
The idea of a trial is not new. Last year, Zespri drew up a proposal to stage a three-year trial. However, the board of Kiwifruit NZ - which regulates the industry - noted that while the proposal met the standard of core business for Zespri, it posed risks to growers. But it did not reject the idea outright.
On that basis, Zespri has now modified the plan, which they hope will win the support of growers.
"What we are saying is that the risks highlighted by KNZ are really valid and what we want to do is put in place processes and actions that reduce and mitigate riskes," Ward explains.
"So that the growers recognise we are stepping into this in a very controlled and cautious way. What we are asking the growers for is a one year trial - the first of three years - and limiting this to 200,000 trays."
Ward says Zespri has talked about the issue a lot with growers and is releasing an information booklet which details the trial and asks for their support. A vote on the issue will take place in June.
