Te Kuini Māori Steps Onto The Global Stage To Support Māori Kiwifruit Marketers

UAE, Oct 3, 2025 - Māori kiwifruit growers are honoured and humbled to have the support of Te Kiingitanga at the launch of a new export initiative in the United Arab Emirates.

The Māori Queen, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po VIII, is leading a Kiingitanga delegation to support the work of Māori Kiwifruit Growers Ltd (MKGL), which is marking the start of its first season in the market with an elegant royal launch event.

Under a collaborative marketing deal with export superstar Zespri, MKGL will earn a fee for marketing 10 containers of fruit in the UAE in partnership with established New Zealand fruit exporter Mr Apple. MKGL’s fee will be reinvested into training and capability-building for Māori growers in the horticulture heartland of rural New Zealand.

“We’re not just marketing fruit,” says MKGL chair Geoff Rolleston. “We’re building futures. It’s about collaborating to create long-term relationships and intergenerational prosperity.

“Along the way we are growing the capability of our people so they can create for themselves a future in kiwifruit. And we take such pride in being able to stand alongside Te Kuini Māori as she steps onto the global stage.”

The timing of the pilot and the royal launch at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel is auspicious. A world-leading Māori and Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Chapter was included in the New Zealand-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which came into force just over a month ago on August 28.

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The trade agreement includes both the dedicated cooperation chapter for Māori and other Indigenous Peoples, as well as an exception clause to protect obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Kiingitanga spokesperson Rukumoana Schaafhausen says Te Arikinui is proud to support Māori enterprise and indigenous trade. Te Arikinui continues the same support that her father, Kiingi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, provided to MKGL when it began to market kiwifruit in Hawai’i last year.

“Trade and enterprise is in our DNA and a part of our culture,” Ms Schaafhausen says, “so we are delighted to tautoko the launch of Māori Kiwifruit Growers’ marketing pilot in the UAE.”

The launch of the pilot in Dubai is the first test of CEPA’s Indigenous Peoples chapter. If it is a success, it will demonstrate New Zealand business, government agencies, and Māori interests working together to secure Māori-led growth, cultural integrity, and economic sovereignty.

Rolleston says the Māori economy is built on an intergenerational outlook. In kiwifruit, multi-owner Māori orchards plough profits into health, education, and economic development for owners and their descendants.

With around 8 percent of New Zealand’s kiwifruit trays coming from Māori growers, Rolleston says this launch is a celebration of Māori excellence, innovation, and leadership – and the starring role Te Arikinui is playing in spotlighting and accelerating the Māori economy.

On September 23, MKGL was announced as a finalist in the Māori Excellence in Export category of the New Zealand International Business Awards 2025.

ABOUT CEPA: The New Zealand-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is known as CEPA.

The Indigenous Peoples Economic and Trade Cooperation Chapter within it recognises the cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and economic aspirations of Indigenous Peoples, including Māori. It preserves New Zealand’s ability to uphold its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi while enabling Māori to benefit from trade and investment opportunities.

ABOUT MĀORI KIWIFRUIT GROWERS: MKGL represents New Zealand kiwifruit growers of Māori heritage. Many Māori orchards are small landholdings under shared ownership across sub-tribes or wider family groups. MKGL has around 50 members, who collectively supply about 8 percent of the fruit in the New Zealand kiwifruit industry. Through collaborative marketing deals, MKGL is earning money to fund training and development for Māori growers. The UAE launch will feature a country-of-origin promotion showcasing Māori culture, with fruit branded under Zespri and point-of-sale materials highlighting its Māori provenance. https://www.maorikiwifruitgrowers.com/

ABOUT THE NZ INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AWARDS:

https://www.nzte.govt.nz/page/nziba-finalists-2025

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