Streamlined export plan for kiwifruit industry

Press, 4 March 1988, Page 22

Streamlined export plan for kiwifruit industry

I .1 : <i I A reduction in the number of!kiwifruit importers is part of | a streamlined export! programme announced by the New Zealand kiwifruit industry. The' programme includes! also tighter shipping control, improved inventory management, pricing targets with promotional support, and more detailed information [on the performance of exporters.

T,, The number of kiwifruit importers in the United States has been reduced from 25 to eight. The 1988 panel of importers had been selected to ensure a complete national distribution network to capitalise bn the expanded consumer base achieved in 1987. In Europe, the most significant cutback in importers had occurred in the United Kingdom

where numbers, had been reduced from 13 to six. The chairman of the Kiwifruit Authority, Mr Bruce Honeybone, said the industry [had been criticised last year for the number of importers and the volume of fruit committed to the United Kingdom market which had allegedly put downward presure on | wholesale market returns. This year’s restriction

on importer numbers and the removal of a minimum percentage of fruit to be sold in the market by each exporter are expected to remove the pressure, j In Japan, a panel of 17 importers! will represent New Zealand exporters, a reduction i of nine from 1987.