Lettuce crops being grown in market gardens in Pukekohe. Photo: RNZ/ Brad White
New Zealand agriculture can no longer rely on its usual international customers and needs to look for new markets, industry leaders believe.
A report from business consultancy KPMG on Agribusiness Agenda, has tapped local leaders in various parts of the country's agricultural sector for their views on where the industry needs to go.
KMPG spokesperson Ian Proudfoot says tariff uncertainty is spurring people into action.
"They're thinking about where else can we sell products, what do we need to make those products look like, and what attributes do they need to have for them to be sold effectively."
One of the highest priorities identified by the report was the signing of high quality trade agreements with new trading partners. India is high on the list along with South East Asian markets such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Biosecurity remained the top of the must-do list, along with post-pandemic supply chain resilience.
Proudfoot said there was support to maintain migration settings, but also a need to grow a skilled local labour force, rather than relying on migrant labour, and a training system to deliver it.
He said sustainability was not just important but non-negotiable.
"The overriding message is that we can't change our course on sustainability.The main reason is commercial. We're selling to a relatively small group of customers around the world who are servicing a high value market. Those commitments are really important to them."
