New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc have been given a strong mandate by kiwifruit growers to work on their behalf for the next six-year kiwifruit levy cycle.

The Declaration of Result was provided by the independent Returning Officer, Warwick Lampp, of Electionz.com. Of those who voted, 91 per cent of growers supported the proposed levy, equating to 94 per cent their total production of the foregone season.

Votes were cast by 54 per cent of growers eligible to vote in the referendum, representing 68 per cent of total production.

These results compare to the previous levy referendum in 2017 of which 85 per cent of voters supported the proposed levy and their production equated to 88 per cent support. Votes were cast by 49 per cent of growers eligible to vote in the referendum, representing 63 per cent of eligible voter's total production of the foregone season.

'This great result reflects the return on investment that NZKGI has delivered growers over the last six years. It is an especially pleasing turnout despite the recent adverse weather and harvest which have put growers under the pump”, says NZKGI chairman, Mark Mayston.

'The kiwifruit industry is experiencing a challenging time with increased regulations and pressure across the whole supply chain. But the future remains bright and NZKGI will be there to make sure that growers' interests remain the top priority.”

'We are very pleased with this support from growers for NZKGI to continue to advocate for them. Our organization is focused on overcoming their challenges, be they driven by changes to climate or regulations, and ensuring growers are receiving maximum benefit from the industry structure.

'In order for NZKGI to advocate, I encourage all growers to continue to voice their opinion with their representatives to make sure that our organization is focusing on issues important to them.”

Kiwifruit growers first voted to establish a kiwifruit commodity levy to fund the operation of NZKGI in 2011. Since that time, the organization advocates for growers in national and local Government decision making, succession planning for the industry, promotion of seasonal jobs, representation of the industry at an international level and communication to growers on business-critical issues.

The levy will be used to continue to fund the operations of NZKGI and, in particular, there will be significant new activity in performance monitoring. The levy remains set at 1.1c/tray and can only be increased by vote at a NZKGI AGM or Special General Meeting.

NZKGI has informed the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O'Connor of the result and will be applying to the Minister's office for a new levy order that would run for a maximum of six years.