Turners and Growers has come out swinging after a meeting between the country’s biggest Kiwifruit marketer and the Prime Minister on Tuesday.

John Key met with Zespri executives at Parliament on Tuesday to discuss the organisation’s plans for expansion through to 2025.

The Prime Minister told those at the meeting the Government has no plans to dismantle the industry’s ‘single desk’ marketing structure, unless there is a groundswell of opinion from kiwifruit growers.

Turners and Growers, who postponed a high court hearing against Zespri on Tuesday, issued an open letter to the Prime Minister calling Zespri’s market position a “monopoly” . The company claims Government support for the company amounts to a “mockery of its own economic principles”.

Former Turners and Growers chairman Tony Gibbs says from their standpoint, the issues haven’t changed, and won’t until there is official recognition the situation is unfair.

“We’re asking that people – us, or anybody else, are able to sell their own private property. You grow your fruit, you should be allowed to export it where you want to export it, without limitation.

“If you want to export meat, you can, wool, milk, tomatoes, mandarins, all fine. The only thing you can’t export in New Zealand is kiwifruit.”

Turners and Growers has indicated legal action will proceed as planned, around Zespri’s alleged breaches of the Commerce Act.