HortNZ Board Election 2025: Growers urged to vote before 10 July deadline
Commercial fruit and vegetable growers are being encouraged to cast their votes in the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board directors' election.
Supermarkets shouldn't be seen as villians when it comes to competition and returns in the retail sector, says former Horticulture NZ chief executive Mike Chapman.
He says supermarkets are a core part of our business.
"Without the supermarket, we don't sell," he told Rural News.
"It's not about saying you've done bad or you've done good, it's about how we can change the dynamics for the future," he says.</p.
Chapman says the recent Commerce Commission review into supermarkets provides an opportunity where the whole supply chain - retailers, distributors and growers - all have a fair share.
"We are looking for a positive outcome where consumers and growers can get the deal they deserve," he says.
Chapman supports a code of conduct for fresh produce and believes there's wide support for a code within the sector.
The Commerce Commission has released its report after reviewing competition in the $22 billion a year grocery industry. It found Foodstuffs and Woolworths duopoly is making super-profits - in excess of 20% return on their capital - at the expense of both food suppliers and customers.
The Government is inviting submissions from stakeholders on the commission’s report before deciding how it will try to improve competition.
Opening the HortNZ Conference in Hamilton, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor assured fruit and vegetable growers that the Government will uphold their interests.
He pointed out that sponsorship doesn’t give supermarkets right to suppression.
“We have healthy comp across economy in all areas of supply and demand ad its Commerce Commission’s role to ensure that”.
Countdown was a platinum sponsor of conference.
Foodstuffs and Woolworths have cornered 90% of the grocery market through owning all of NZ's biggest supermarket brands – New World, Pak'nSave, Countdown, Four Square and Supervalue.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
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