NZ food security ranks highly with plentiful fresh produce

Scientific research published recently by Nature Food examined the domestic food production of 186 countries to see if they could feed their citizens and achieve dietary guidelines if global food supply chains were disrupted by trade tariffs, wars, pandemics or other crises.

Over a third of all countries cannot meet self-sufficiency for more than two of the seven essential food groups. However, New Zealand is fully self-sufficient in five out of the seven food groups analysed. While the country would fall short at producing enough legumes, nuts, seeds and starchy staples to meet everyone’s dietary needs, its fruit and vegetable, meat, dairy, fish and seafood supply is plentiful.

“New Zealand is, of course, renowned for our exceptional fresh produce but we should never take those crops for granted,” said United Fresh Technical Advisory Group Chair Dr Hans Maurer. “It takes considerable time, commitment and innovation to produce the fresh fruit and vegetable crops we do, and growers face ongoing challenges from extreme weather events and pests and diseases.

“The fact we have ranked so highly in this Nature Food study is a good reminder of just how valuable our horticulture industry is in terms of food security, and how fortunate we are to have skilled and dedicated growers, as well as robust supply chains, in Aotearoa New Zealand when global trade can be so uncertain.”

United Fresh represents the country’s pan-produce sector and, according to its ‘Fresh Facts 2024’ publication, fresh fruit and vegetable exports reached $4.3bn last year, an increase of 8% from 2023.

And those figures are only set to rise, with an industry-wide push now underway to increase horticulture production in NZ, with a goal to double its farmgate return by 2036.

Horticulture New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) launched the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan in 2023 in recognition of the enormous potential the horticulture industry has to contribute to New Zealand’s economy and the health of all New Zealanders. In order to reach this goal, the Fresh Facts analysts have identified that the horticulture industry needs to grow at 4.81% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between now and 2036 to achieve a final value of $7.36bn.

Image credit: iStock.com/AWSeebaran