More investment and more innovative processed foods are needed to boost New Zealand's food exports, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said Tuesday.
A government-commissioned report showed that export growth of 7. 7 percent to 9.3 percent a year for 15 years was required to meet the government's target of doubling New Zealand food exports by 2025, leading to about 30 billion NZ dollars (25.26 billion U.S. dollars) in new exports.
"New Zealand's food industry has seen significant growth over the last 16 years outperforming a wide range of our competitors but there are still challenges to overcome if we are to reach our goal," Joyce said in a statement.
The report suggested that with investment, the processed foods industry could build on the country's competitive advantage in food and agriculture, with the development of premium, innovative and niche products that were well-branded.
"New Zealand has good food and beverage exports per capita, but we need to move beyond our traditional mix of meat and dairy. Processed value-added foods, like infant formula, nutraceuticals and baked goods, have the best potential for achieving the growth we need."
The project was part of the government's Business Growth Agenda, which has a goal of increasing the ratio of exports to GDP from the current 30 percent to 40 percent of GDP by 2025.
New Zealand's food and beverage exports were valued at 20.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, of which 49 percent was dairy products and 21 percent meat products.
