NZ tries to upset Australia's apple cart
Updated
A growing number of countries want to join New Zealand in its bid to export apples to Australia.
New Zealand is fighting to overturn a ban which has stopped it from selling apples to Australia for more than 85 years.
Apple and Pear Australia chairman Darrall Ashton says many countries have filed applications to Australian authorities hoping to break into the market.
But he says quarantine issues still need to be addressed.
"The federal government is currently processing applications from New Zealand as well as China and the USA, and because of free trade developments with Chile, I imagine that will be on the books soon," Mr Ashton said.
"But the trade issue is not an issue; the quarantine issue is the major one for us.
"The government has a process of vetting all the applications, looking at all the pests and diseases in those countries - we're just hopeful they are very mindful of the diseases that we don't have.
"We really want to protect ourselves and make sure that we aren't exposed to things that we don't need," he said.
