Week in Review

[7th July 2022]

On the shores of Aotearoa New Zealand, the export free trade agreement with the EU worth NZD$1.8 billion has seen mixed reaction. The deal also confirms that New Zealand cheese makers will no longer have the ability to use specific names for products with historical links to Europe. New Zealand’s largest poultry supplier, Tegel, has increased prices by 10% due to labour shortages and increasing costs.

In international news, fertiliser company Yara, announced its plan for a new ‘green’ fertiliser, the Global Dairy Trade price fell 4.1% to 1287 in the recent fortnightly auction and in the UK, a shortage of seasonal workers has resulted in tonnes of unpicked produce. Danone, under their ‘Nutrilon’ brand, is preparing to launch their first dairy and plant blend infant formula. Danone claims the product is nutritionally complete for infants and has a 30% smaller carbon footprint in comparison to other powdered formulas

Foresight Focus Series

This week Ainslie Ballinger (KPMG Propagate manager) investigates future priorities for investment in food and nutrition science.

“For decades now, nutrition science has provided us with knowledge on specific nutrients and bioactive components and how these contribute to diet-related disease.

But there are flaws in this approach. It assumes that the effect of a single nutrient is linear and additive and doesn’t provide us with evidence on how nutrients and structures of different foods interact with each other, and then with our bodies.”

Shifting away from scientific reductionism | Ainslie Ballinger

Opportunity of the Week

Our Fieldnotes audience has early access to registrations for the second Food & Fibre Insights course co-delivered by KPMG and the University of Waikato.

Course Registration Link

Designed to provide leading-edge knowledge while remaining flexible to suit full-time professionals, the course provides the opportunity to explore six key topics from biotechnology and value-chains to water, oceans and the future of food. The course has leading guest presenters from across New Zealand and the world, while being co-facilitated by KPMG’s Ian Proudfoot and senior agribusiness lecturers at the University of Waikato.

“The course quickly became the highlight of my week” - Course #1 Participant

Spotlight Stories

Trade & Exports Spotlight

New Zealand wins $1.8b trade deal with EU at eleventh hour [1 July, The Country]

New Zealand has secured a NZD$1.8 billion trade deal to grow exports by 2035 with the EU. When it comes into force, 91% of tariffs will be eliminated, with a further 6% following in the seventh year. While some sectors are happy with the agreement, others have expressed disappointment over subpar benefits.

Tags: Trade & Exports

Horticulture Spotlight

T&G Global receives sustainability loan [30 June, Rural News]

Announced last week, T&G Global has signed up for the New Zealand horticulture sector’s first sustainability-linked loan. Borrowing NZD$180 million over three years, T&G has committed to greenhouse gas reduction targets, creating a climate risk adaptation plan, and boosting regional development through job creation.

Tags: Horticulture, Sustainability 

Headline Stories

Kellogg's loses court case over sugary cereal supermarket offers [5 July, BBC]

Kellogg’s has lost its court case against the UK Government on regulation of in-store promotions of foods and beverages high in fat, salt or sugar. From October, these foods will be banned from prime promotional spots such as store entrances and aisle ends as one measure to combat rising obesity rates.

Tags: International, Regulations 

Record year for NZ agritech investment [4 July, Food Ticker]

Investment in agritech in New Zealand has reached record levels. The newly released TIN200 Agritech report shows that NZD$15.4 million of deals were reached in 2021, with 2020 seeing only seven. CertusBio, which produces monitoring solutions for food processing, saw the largest investment in 2021 at NZD$4.6 million.

Tags: AgriTech, Start-ups 

Vege growers turn off the heat as coal and gas prices soar [5 July, RNZ]

Increasing costs for coal and gas has caused some indoor vegetable growers to temporarily shut off their heaters, with some considering changing to seasonal crops that require little heating. Board member of Vegetables New Zealand, Leanne Roberts, commented that many recent changes in the industry had created an uncertain future for small to medium indoor farms.

Tags: Horticulture, Energy 

Get in touch

Audit – Auckland
Ian Proudfoot
09 367 5882
iproudfoot@kpmg.co.nz
Management Consulting – Wellington
Justine Fitzmaurice
04 816 4845
jfitzmaurice@kpmg.co.nz
Agri-Food – Auckland
Jack Keeys

09 363 3502
jkeeys@kpmg.co.nz
Private Enterprise – Hamilton
Hamish McDonald 

07 858 6519
hamishmcdonald@kpmg.co.nz
Agri-Food – Auckland
Andrew Watene

09 367 5969
awatene@kpmg.co.nz
Private Enterprise – South Island
Grant Polson
+64 3307 0760
gpolson@kpmg.co.nz

Farm Enterprise – South Island
Brent Love

03 683 1871
blove@kpmg.co.nz

Field Notes Administrator
Demosson Metu
+64 9365 4073
dmetu@kpmg.co.nz