With 17 years under its belt, the New Zealand Fruit Tree Company (NZFTC), operating out of Hawkes Bay and Central Otago, is the nation’s largest private importer of commercial fruit varieties. According to John Morton, NZFTC company executive officer, it now represents many of the major breeding programs both within New Zealand and overseas. NCFTC is responsible for the administration, introduction, development and commercialization of the varieties it represents.
Operating its own level-two quarantine facility and research orchards, the NZFTC can efficiently and quickly establish the development of new varieties, maintaining control and security throughout the process. “As the nation’s horticultural industry develops and becomes more sophisticated, the NZFTC has forged strategic partnerships with leading nurserymen and marketing organizations,” Morton says. “These strategic partnerships allow the company to develop market strategies for new variety releases and the flexibility to operate a tree or production-based royalty system. The company is now operating several managed programs.”
The companies that John Morton Limited currently represents include New Zealand Fruit Tree Company and Shennong Variety Management Limited (SVM). SVM develops new concepts and appreciation of intellectual property in China.
Morton has also been appointed as global manager of the Papple® pear brand, an exciting new pear variety launched in 2011. The Papple has gained international recognition as a new brand of pear – www.papplepear.com
In 2000 New Zealand Fruit Tree Company was accepted as a member of the Associated International Group of Nurseries (AIGN®). Morton is now an AIGN® director.
