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
Week in Review Stories
- National gives EU free trade agreement a six out of 10
- Fossil-free food: Green fertilizer developed to ‘effortlessly’ decarbonise the food chain
- Cheese makers to lose generic naming rights
- Tegel hikes prices again as cost pressures mount
- Tonnes of food going unpicked on British farms ‘due to foreign labour shortage’
- Dairy prices fall as buyers resist higher prices
- Danone blends plant and dairy protein for flexitarian-friendly formula without nutritional compromise
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.
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 |
Field Notes Administrator |