The New Zealand Food & Grocery Council welcomes the release of the latest growth and investment report on the food and beverage industry.
The Investor’s Guide to the New Zealand Food and Beverage Industry has been launched by Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford.
It’s part of MBIE’s Food and Beverage Information Project, whose objective is to identify emerging high potential food and beverage export categories, inform offshore market development export and investment strategies, assist in identifying areas of innovation for the future, and identify strategic partners and collaborators.
It says New Zealand is still discovering its comparative advantages and new industries continue to emerge, and points to the strengths and growth in dairy, meat, seafood, fresh produce, processed food and beverages.
It says while New Zealand is “by almost all measures the most attractive investment destination in the temperate zone of the Southern Hemisphere”, and while already a major global F&B exporter, there is “significant untapped capacity to export more”.
It identifies emerging growth categories, including honey, mussels, salmon, beef jerky, avocados, cherries, berries, French fries, soups, ketchup, infant formula, yoghurt, ice cream, pet food, biscuits, chocolate, confectionary, nutritionals, UF milk, soft drinks, beer, cider, and spirts. It also contains a detailed guide on the top 200 companies in the industry.
FGC Chief Executive Katherine Rich says the guide paints a very bright picture for the food and beverage industry.
“What’s particularly significant is that while it points out how well the sector is performing and how valuable it is, it says we can do even better across all the major categories.
“This guide is a magnificent resource for food companies, policy makers, and investors, helping to inform market development and investment decisions.
“If we are to continue to build New Zealand’s reputation for safe and top quality food and beverage, investors need to be able to access the sort of information reports such as this can provide.
“Investment in these areas will further help boost the food and beverage export sector, which currently contributes around $34 billion to the economy. That’s 65% of total merchandise exports and 46% of total goods and services exports.”
The guide was compiled by highly-respected food industry consultants Coriolis Research, an NZFGC member, with the assistance of MBIE, NZ Trade & Enterprise, and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
