AIC Ltd becomes NZ Avocado Industry Ltd

Following a decision at the March board meeting to change the name of AIC Ltd, the NZAGA Executive Committee last week approved a name change for that entity from Avocado Industry Council Ltd to New Zealand Avocado Industry Ltd. This name change was registered at the Companies Office on 1st August 2018.

New Zealand Avocado Industry Ltd is now the new name for AIC Ltd, the operating entity and subsidiary of NZAGA.

There are a number of reasons for doing this. One of the Directors had raised some time ago the confusion caused by two long names to describe our industry body, NZ Avocado Growers Association and Avocado Industry Council, AIC.

We have over the past four or five years informally resolved this by calling ourselves NZ Avocado. However, that was only ever informal, and it was time to formalise our industry name. The Board confirmed that the name NZ (or New Zealand) Avocado Industry Ltd is a more appropriate name.

Secondly, we are setting up a digital platform in China as the industry body for avocados from New Zealand. Under the former name, AIC Ltd, there was no association with “New Zealand”, so it defeated the purpose of being able to authenticate the origin of our avocados and authenticate the New Zealand brands marketing avocados from New Zealand.

Additionally there was an error more than a decade ago in how the recognised product group for avocados was noted on the Horticulture Export Authority order. This will be corrected by requesting to the Minister that our new name is inserted into the order, replacing AIC. NZ Avocado Industry Ltd will be shortened to NZ Avocado, the subsidiary of NZAGA.

This will be more formerly advised at the AGM on 29th August.