11 March 2008
Zespri Welcomes Government Innovation Initiative
ZESPRI Chief Executive Tony Nowell today applauded the New Zealand Government’s announcement of a $700 million fund
towards pastoral and food innovation, saying it would provide the support needed to lift New Zealand’s profile as a
leader in sustainable primary production. New Zealand Fast Forward is a government-industry partnership launched today
in Wellington by Prime Minister Helen Clark, Minister of Agriculture Jim Anderton and Minister of Research, Science and
Technology, Pete Hodgson.
The Government is proposing to invest $85 - $100 million per annum over the next 10-15 years, subject to industry
matching the investment dollarfor- dollar, towards initiatives to lift the environmental performance, global
competitiveness, dynamism and value of New Zealand’s pastoral and food industries. Tony Nowell was invited by the Prime
Minister to speak at the launch in Wellington, in part as the former co-Chair of the Food and Beverage Taskforce, and
also representing the New Zealand kiwifruit industry as Chief Executive of ZESPRI.
“ZESPRI strongly supports the New Zealand Government’s initiative, which aligns with our own strategy of investing in
research and development in order to sustainably grow our industry in the longer term,” Mr Nowell said to the ministers
and other dignitaries present at the launch.
“As the kiwifruit industry’s single desk marketer, ZESPRI already has the critical mass needed to fund significant
levels of industry-good innovation investment. We see New Zealand Fast Forward as an opportunity to advance this
investment and look forward to helping lift New Zealand’s profile as a leader in sustainable primary production.” ZESPRI
has been invited to sit on the committee which is tasked with designing the governance framework for the ongoing
partnership. In order to maximise the opportunities this funding provides, the Government intends to capitalise on
existing innovation frameworks and partnerships; although any one-for-one matching will only take place on new
initiatives that build on New Zealand’s core capabilities and deliver strong competitive advantages.
“ZESPRI currently invests approximately $8 million a year on innovation towards increasing industry efficiency,
enhancing the value of existing products and developing new products. We’re currently working to assess planned spend
for 2008 and beyond, to ensure our industry can take full advantage of the new opportunities that New Zealand Fast
Forward presents.”
An example of the success of ZESPRI’s innovation spend is Hort16A, a new kiwifruit variety developed in partnership
with HortResearch and exclusive to ZESPRI. ZESPRI™ GOLD was launched commercially in 2000, and now forms a quarter of
ZESPRI’s annual sales of $1 billion plus.
ZESPRI already has a world-leading breeding programme with HortResearch, but Mr Nowell says there is plenty of scope for
improvement. “New cultivars are integral to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry’s competitiveness, but it’s a lengthy
process to get it right. ZESPRI™ GOLD took 14 years to develop. “We currently have a number of seedlings under
evaluation which test well against our quality criteria so we’ll be considering how to take advantage of the
announcement today to help us increase the probability of this programme delivering the world’s third-leading kiwifruit
variety, after ZESPRI™ GREEN and ZESPRI™ GOLD.”
The Food and Beverage Taskforce released a report in August 2006 which included eight recommendations considered
necessary for the food and beverage sector to grow and prosper. Tony Nowell said New Zealand Fast Forward, along with
the $100 million food and beverage work programme announced by the Government in July last year, provides the
opportunity to address many of the Taskforce’s recommendations.
ENDS