Food and beverage accounts for just under half New Zealand’s exports, but the country has significant untapped capacity to export more, according to a Government-commissioned report.
The report said New Zealand was still discovering its comparative advantages in the food and beverage sector, which contributed $30.7 billion in exports – 46 per cent of the total – over 2014.
The report – titled the Investor’s Guide to the New Zealand Food and Beverage Industry – said New Zealand is a country the size of Italy with the population of Singapore.
“However, Italy feeds a domestic population of 60m people and exports twice as much food and beverage as New Zealand,” it said.