Fruit exporter's high noon nears

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON agricultural editor

Friday's first annual meeting for an Enza dominated by corporate interests is predicted to be a watershed for the troubled apple industry.

Pipfruit Growers chairman Phil Alison said he expected tensions between the corporate and small-grower shareholders of the near-monopoly exporter to come to the fore at the meeting in the Wellington Town Hall.

"The [purchase] price list has just come out and we've been inundated with calls about it from unhappy growers," he said.

"There is no problem with the sale price, but by the time the ticket has been clipped and the grower receives his price, there's just too big a difference. And [the fault] is Enza's cost structure, and the management, handling and selling of the crop."

Paul Paynter, of the Enza shareholder voting trust representing nearly 20 per cent of the company's shareholding, said his group was polling its beneficiaries to establish whether to proceed with nominating two more grower representatives for the board, and putting two resolutions before the meeting.

If growers backed the trust, its director candidates would be former Enza chief executive Joe Pope and Hawkes Bay grower Jonathan Wiltshire.

The resolutions call for Enza to reduce its commission rates for the year, and spread the cost of the company's losses on foreign exchange and its failed Napier Omniport across both suppliers and shareholders.

"Enza's commission and historical liabilities will amount to approximately $6.50 a carton of apples," Mr Paynter said.

"There is a widely held perception that Enza will make $20 million this year, and growers will make yet another loss."

Mr Paynter said Enza complained about the level of export permits being granted to other exporters but "if you're going to go broke supplying these guys, the natural inclination is to find somewhere else to go."

Enza chairman Tony Gibbs, of corporate investor Guinness Peat Group, said the only nominations and resolutions he would allow to be voted on at the meeting would be the seven put up by the company and already circulated to shareholders.

He disputed Mr Paynter's claim that the trust's nominations and resolutions had been submitted in time to be included in the meeting.

Mr Paynter said he would confirm in writing to Mr Gibbs his group's belief that its nominations and resolutions should stand.

As ordinary resolutions, which did not require prior circulation, they could also simply be put during the course of the meeting, Mr Paynter said.

Meanwhile, Mr Gibbs said he hoped that a resolution to change Enza's constitution and allow it to list on the stock exchange would get the required 75 per cent support.

"If the constitution is changed I think we could see the share price go up quite substantially [from last week's $1.80]. If it went up by a dollar, that is $20 million of value coming back into this industry.

"If the constitution is not supported, I can also see the share price going down by a dollar, because that is where it has been in the past.

"People have to make up their minds," he said, adding that he hoped "common sense" would prevail.