By Libby Middlebrook
New Zealand's newest horticultural community is struggling to survive as large vegetable-growers squeeze it out of the market, says the Korean Vegetable Growers' Association.
About 80 Korean immigrants have set up commercial vegetable-growing businesses in South Auckland in the past five years, investing between $400,000 and $1 million in
property, glasshouses and packing operations.
But many of the growers, who have professional business backgrounds in fields such as technology, communications and management, say their businesses are struggling as more established growers increase production and merge to gain greater efficiency and presence on the domestic market.
"The local market is very narrow and small, so growers are trying to produce more," says the association's president, Kook-Nam Yom.
"The volume is growing and the prices are more and more flat. That makes it harder for small growers."
Mr Yom, a former journalist from South Korea, immigrated in 1993 with his family and invested $1 million in property and glasshouses in Papakura. The 59-year-old says he wanted to base himself in New Zealand because of the lack of racial discrimination compared with other parts of the world.
"Korea is a very competitive society and that would be the reason many [Korean people] have come to New Zealand. I was very attracted to the country because it is very peaceful and there is low pollution. In other parts of the world minority groups are not treated equally, either."
But six years after his arrival Mr Yom says Korean vegetable-growers running medium-sized operations are fighting to sustain the viability of their businesses as other, better established growers increase production.
"Small and medium growers will face bankruptcy. They will be discouraged and many will leave this horticultural industry."
Il-Kyu Ahn, 50, immigrated here on 1996 and invested about $400,000 in a Drury-based, tomato-growing business that had a turnover of about $200,000 in the last financial year. He says the situation is discouraging other Korean immigrants from investing in horticulture.
"Many people are watching us to see how we do and they will think it is not feasible," he says.
Mr Yom wants the Government to legislate to protect small businesses from being pushed out of the growing market by large producers. He says that will encourage more Koreans to invest here.
Korean growers, who grow mainly protected crops such as tomatoes, have just set up their growers' association to represent themselves on a national level.
