Summerfruit NZ would like to acknowledge the contribution to the New Zealand fruit growing industry of Peter Taylor, who passed away in early August in Tauranga.
Peter, a fourth-generation orchardist, first got involved in the industry in 1957. He undertook several governance roles in Otago in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1982, Peter was elected President of the New Zealand Fruitgrowers Federation. In this role, Peter steered the change in the structure of the Federation into sectors and played a significant role in the development of the Horticulture Export Authority (HEA). He was one of the first representatives to be selected.
Peter also played major leadership roles in the summerfruit industry, being the initial Chairman of the industry’s Sector Committee and bringing the industry in under the HEA as a product group.
As Chairman of the Summerfruit Export Council, Peter travelled to Japan on several occasions in the late 1980s to negotiate market entry for cherries and nectarines.
Information obtained from Horticulture in New Zealand, Volume 1 Number 1, Summer 1990, page 27