Food & beverage report highlights real opportunities

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has welcomed a new report that provides wide-ranging insights into the food and beverage industry.

“The Food and Beverage Information Project’s Industry Snapshot is the definitive outline of the state of the industry in New Zealand,” Mr Joyce says.

“Food and beverage is a great Kiwi success story and there are huge opportunities opening up. Asia now buys 40 per cent of our total food and beverage exports while the UK buys only 5 per cent. The rising Asian middle class is demanding high-quality products and New Zealand is in an excellent position to meet that demand.”

The Industry Snapshot is part of the Food and Beverage Information Project, launched late last year by the Minister of Economic Development. It is the most comprehensive analysis of the New Zealand food and beverage industry ever undertaken.

The report shows that 75 per cent of the top 64 food industry firms by turnover are owned by New Zealanders, with Japan, Australia and the US accounting for the majority of foreign ownership. 

“The Food and Beverage Industry Snapshot lays down the challenge. It shows us where the industry is doing well and where we need to do more work to build our competitiveness and capture more value in global markets,” Mr Joyce says.

“The industry exports $25 billion in food and beverages each year. Much of this is ingredients which others use to make finished products. The report estimates that international consumers pay from $140-$200 billion at the checkout counter for food products that are primarily of New Zealand origin.

“It’s not all about producing more. It’s also about capturing more of that value for New Zealand. New Zealand is about the same size as Italy, yet Italy exports twice as much food and beverage by value as New Zealand as well as feeding a population of 60 million.”

For more information visit www.foodandbeverage.govt.nz