In 1956, Turners & Growers (the company first came up with the name kiwifruit), which is now embarking on a fight to overturn Zespri's export monopoly of the fruit.

At the company's annual meeting T&G chairman Tony Gibbs told shareholders said that the time has come to challenge Zespri's outdated monopoly. "Offshore retailers are crying out for alternatives and now that T&G has its own green, gold and red kiwifruit varieties, we are in a position to once again become a major force in the kiwifruit industry."

T&G is planting its own varieties in Korea, Japan, Australia, Chile, South Africa, Egypt, Italy and even Britain and has a fledgling international kiwifruit operation.

(via TopNews New Zealand. Contributed by Kohia Dennison)