Insights into New Zealand’s food sector

Since New Zealand signed a free trade agreement with both China and India, it’s expected the food sector will continue to grow.

New Zealand is rich in natural resources and the industry has developed innovative and sustainable food processing techniques. With an international reputation for freshness, New Zealand is devoted to research and improvement within the food sector.

Specialty products

The industry has capitalised on the opportunity to produce specialty foods. Such products include:

• Honey
• Oils
• Ice cream
• Cheese
• Juices
• Beers
• Wines
• Water

According to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand’s specialty foods exported NZ$8.7 billion worth of products in 2006.

Wine

New Zealand has a reputation for producing some of the world’s finest wines. Globally, New Zealand wine is positioned as a premium product with a distinctive quality. According to Investment New Zealand, export sales have increased annually at a rate of 18% by volume over the last 10 years.

Health foods

Health ingredients and functional foods are the fast-growing sectors within New Zealand’s food industry. Sales of health ingredients and functional foods are estimated at NZ$323 million annually, of which more than half are exported.

Continuous improvement

Investors have access to a wealth of research and development organisations in New Zealand easily giving birth to cross-sector relationships that result in a higher quality product. This is just one of the many benefits of a smaller – and more accessible – country.

Current trends indicate consumers desire more health-conscious foods. With the help of research organisations, food processing companies have successfully developed products to meet international demand.

The food sector provides investors with a wide range of opportunities. Whether you’d like to be involved in production, processing, exportation or sale of food, New Zealand’s market is ideal for international investors.

Key Resources

We suggest looking at the following resources:

• Organics Aotearoa New Zealand promotes New Zealand’s organic food sector and help to ensure a sustainable organic future
• The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) controls exports of food and food related products
• AsureQuality Limited is a government organisation providing quality assurance and bio-security services for the food industry
• The New Zealand Food & Grocery Council represents New Zealand manufacturers and suppliers to the grocery industry
• Foodworks provides an online directory of food & beverage related products, services, companies and websites in New Zealand.