Partnerships key to unlocking value

NZ horticulture - partnerships key to unlocking value

Strategic partnerships could provide the New Zealand horticulture industry with an avenue for further growth, according to a visiting international agribusiness specialist.

Speaking at the Horticulture New Zealand Conference held in Christchurch yesterday, managing director of Food and Agribusiness Research for Rabobank International in the Americas Deborah Perkins said that as income and population growth provide the basis for an expanding food market, consumers are eating more fruit and processed foods. This has in turn seen the trade of fruit and vegetables increase.

“Global production of fruit and vegetables has grown in response to rapid population growth in China, India and Brazil over the last ten years,” Ms Perkins said, adding that over the same time period Chile has emerged as the largest exporter of fruit in the Southern Hemisphere.

Chile has grown its fruit and vegetable industry in the face of challenges not dissimilar to those faced in New Zealand, Ms Perkins told the audience, saying that although levelling somewhat in the last year, the pesos had experienced three years of solid appreciation – similar to that seen by the New Zealand dollar.

Ms Perkins said that, although fruit and vegetable exports are facing increasing competition, New Zealand should keep in mind that other large exporters are also facing their own challenges. “In addition to struggling with the effects of a high pesos, the cost of labour in Chile is also increasing so labour intensive industries, such as apples and grapes, will potentially become less competitive going forward,” she said.

Ms Perkins cited consumer expectation of year round access to fruit and vegetables as an important opportunity for export-orientated countries such as New Zealand.

“Consumers are looking for fruit and vegetables with high-profile health benefits and have grown to expect year round supply of fruit and vegetables. Chile’s proactive approach to seeking strategic partners, both locally and abroad, has helped it to capitalise on this trend,” she said.

“Hortifrut South America (SA) has used partnerships to successfully grow their blueberry business by extending their ability to supply fruit all year round. Originally just exporting to the US, Hortifrut SA entered into partnerships with two American companies so that it could extend its supply. It subsequently entered into partnerships in Poland and Spain to ensure supply to Europe.”

This is an example of looking for people and companies to work with in order to capitalise on market opportunities, Ms Perkins said, adding that Chile could not have successfully supplied these new markets, and subsequently grown its blueberry industry, without the partnerships it built in America, Poland and Spain.

Ms Perkins said that working together can benefit companies that have different areas of expertise and complementary skills and that New Zealand’s fruit and vegetable industry has a diverse range of opportunities available to it.

“There could be opportunities for New Zealand to work together with other export orientated countries or countries with large domestic markets in order to extract more value from such a unique and innovative industry,” she said.

Ms Perkins, who is based in Rabobank’s New York office, was in New Zealand as part of Rabobank’s Visiting Experts Program, which brings some of the world’s leading food and agribusiness specialists to New Zealand to share their knowledge with communities in rural and regional locations across the country.

Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 100 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank has a AAA credit rating and is rated one of the world’s safest banks by Global Finance magazine. Rabobank operates in 42 countries, servicing the needs of more than nine million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1500 offices and branches. Rabobank is one of New Zealand’s leading rural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the country’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 29 branches throughout New Zealand.

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