Growers to vote on federation merger

By LIAM DANN primary industries editor

More than 600 members of the horticultural sector will gather in Auckland this week to discuss the changes facing the industry.

The most pressing is the merger of the two industry bodies, the Fruit Growers Federation and the Vegetable and Potato Growers Federation (Vegefed).

Growers from each organisation will decide in separate votes whether the merger should go ahead.

One of the largest events held by any industry sector, the Produce Plus conference is an all-encompassing affair.

It includes the Fruit Growers Federation annual meeting and the Vegefed annual meeting as well as joint industry sessions and meetings for the individual grower groups.

A conference highlight is expected to be the address of keynote speaker Dr Roberta Cook, from the University of California, Davis.

Cook is a world leader on the marketing and international trade of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Since 1985 she has been the extension marketing economist at the university's Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics.

At 11am tomorrow she will talk to the conference about how globalisation and retail consolidation are changing the industry.

Fruit Growers Federation president Martin Clements said it was precisely those issues that were driving the merger of the organisations.

"Fruit Growers has been around for 86 years so it's not a step that we are taking lightly," he said.

"We are living in an environment that is changing more rapidly than at any other time in our history."

A change was taking place in the structure of the grower stakeholder base.

When the federation was formed it represented the interests of a lot of small growers, he said.

Growers were not so small these days and that change was being driven by global trends.

Clements said the biggest factor was retail consolidation.

"Supermarket chains are getting bigger. Retail consolidation is having a huge impact on growers' ability to maintain traditional supply outlets."

The world's 10 largest retailers now had combined annual sales bigger than the annual GDP of Brazil.

"That necessitates a certainty of supply and critical mass. If you don't have those on your own, then you need to put yourself into a shape that enables you co-operatively to have that ability. Otherwise you're closed out of the market."

So today the industry was comprised of much bigger growers than it was in the past, he said.

It was crucial to ensure that institutions representing growers remained relevant and were positioned to best advantage growers.

"The merger gives us more leverage politically. It brings about a bigger funding pool that enables us to do more or do the same better."

Vegefed president Brian Gargiulo is equally enthusiastic about the change.

The organisations already did a lot of things together so it was not a huge leap, he said.

Every year it got harder for the sector to make its voice heard, he said. But with combined export earnings of nearly $2 billion, it was vital that horticulture was not ignored.

"For our weight we tend to get forgotten a bit," Gargiulo said. "We need to remind the Government we're here."

This week delegates will be planning how to do exactly that.