Push on with genetic engineering, Wrightson urges

By PAULA OLIVER

Rural services giant Wrightson used the platform of its annual meeting yesterday to issue a stern edict to the Government - do not back down on lifting the GE moratorium.

In a highly political speech timed less than three weeks before the moratorium is lifted, chairman John Palmer said scaremongering and misinformation had caused the public to be woefully ill-informed on GE.

Wrightson endorsed a "proceed with caution" approach for GE, and it was not going to leave the technology alone.

The 163-year-old company, a mainstay of New Zealand agriculture, owns a 15.4 per cent stake in biotechnology company Genesis Research & Development.

Palmer said Wrightson did not have or intend to develop a GE capability itself, but it might develop relationships with organisations that did, perhaps in the area of seeds.

"If we have to look beyond New Zealand's shores to do that, we will. If that means that all of our research focus and capability ultimately moves from New Zealand as a result, that would be a very bad sign for the future of the country's agriculture and business."

Palmer's speech won a healthy round of applause from shareholders gathered in Wellington.

Speaking to the Herald later, Palmer said Wrightson's board had taken time considering whether it should strongly address the issue.

He also challenged the view that overseas markets were not ready for New Zealand to advance further down the GE road.

"At a personal level I have been at the sharp end of external marketing for 15 years in my role as chairman of Zespri and other roles. I'm well aware of what's happening."

Palmer said the key issue in external markets was food safety. That was a much bigger issue than GE itself. "What I get asked by retailers in Europe and the UK is 'how good is your sustainability, how well are you complying, and what are the food safety issues we need to be concerned about?' GE is a subset of that, not the other way around."

Wrightson delivered a satisfactory $18.5 million net profit to its shareholders for the year to June 30.

That was slightly down on the year before, but came in an environment of falling commodity prices, volatile weather and a strong dollar.

Palmer and Wrightson managing director Allan Freeth said the company had undergone considerable change to "delink" itself from commodity cycles.

But that didn't mean it could escape the clutches of the weather.

Difficult spring weather had already led to earnings before interest and tax being about 10 per cent behind last year, Palmer revealed.

Shareholders appeared unconcerned by the numbers, instead focusing questions on the company's investment in Genesis and a move on the share register late last month by former Fonterra boss Craig Norgate.

Asked what the return on the investment in Genesis would be, Palmer said in the short term it would dilute earnings but it was a risk worth taking.

"We very strongly believe investments in biotechnology will be rewarded. We cannot be sure which particular aspects of biotechnology in agriculture are going to be rewarded, but we know that is where the future opportunities in agriculture will lie."

Another shareholder asked if the move by Rural Portfolio Investments, owned by Norgate and the McConnon family of Otago, would have any effect on Wrightson.

Palmer replied that he had spoken to Norgate and as far as he knew the group was happy with the company's direction.