Zespri is the New Zealand company which markets New Zealand kiwifruit here and overseas. Zespri owned a branch company in China to manage importing kiwifruit between 2008 and 2010. Now a Shanghai court has found one employee of that company guilty of smuggling kiwifruit into China without paying import duties. He was sentenced to 5 years in jail. Zespri has to pay a fine of nearly $1m and repay about $10m in import duties.
Kiwfruit growers are worried that they will have to pay this money which would be about $5000 each. This summer has been difficult for kiwifruit growers with the drought and with fewer fruit because of PSA disease.
Zespri now has a new importing company in China.
Listen to July 5th 2012 and follow the links to hear more about PSA disease.
Vocabulary
• to market (v) – advertise and sell
• smuggling – illegal importing
• import duties – a tax on imports
• drought – no rain