KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's primary sector needs to be green to stay in the black, says the Director-General of Agriculture and Forestry, Murray Sherwin.
In notes for a speech to be delivered in Queenstown today, Sherwin says the future success of the primary sector requires growing attention to values "increasingly important to our customers around the globe".
New Zealand's "green" image remains pivotal to its ability to sell products in overseas markets, Sherwin says.
Key issues include sustainable land use, animal welfare, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality and food safety.
Global consumers are becoming more sophisticated and discerning.
"The global consumer places greater emphasis on buying foods that are safe, trusted, convenient, produced in a sustainable manner, but also at a competitive price," Sherwin says.
At the "top end" consumers will also seek a more "subliminal, even emotional, sense that the product is right for them".
The sense of a product being "right" will be partly influenced by fashion but also by ethical and religious considerations. The debate over food miles is an example of this, Sherwin says.
"Expect to see much more of this in the future."
A related challenge is the threat posed by producers in countries where land is cheaper than in New Zealand, Sherwin says.
"There seems to be a limited future in competing with the likes of China, India or Brazil for supermarket shelf space on price alone."
One scenario is that New Zealand does all the right "green" things and is able to "maintain the quality gap" between it and other producers.
But Sherwin also warns of the possibility that competition for increasingly scarce productive resources could hurt the environment, harming our green image.
Success will require NZ to meet market demands more efficiently than competitors. "Often that will require shifting from a mindset of grudging and expensive compliance to one of creating lasting competitive advantage ... by understanding and exceeding our customers' expectations."
Primary facts
* Agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and associated processes and services account for about 17 per cent of GDP. They provide two-thirds of merchandise exports.
* MAF's director-general says New Zealand needs to take account of the fact that global consumers are placing greater emphasis on buying "green" foods.
