Seafood Only Primary Export to Increase Value

Monday, 29 October 2012, 5:00 pm
Press Release: Seafood New Zealand

Media Release

29 October 2012

Seafood Only Primary Export to Increase Value

New Zealand seafood export returns for the first six months of this year have very slightly increased over the same period in 2011, despite the high dollar and access complications with southern Europe.

Seafood New Zealand’s Economic Review shows food commodity export groups have suffered

http://www.seafoodnewzealand.org.nz/publications/economic-review/ with the high dollar during the first half of 2012, with dairy, meat and horticulture exports all reporting declines, as have timber and oil.

Seafood export returns have, in contrast, increased by one per cent, to $706 million, from $699 million in 2011.

Seafood New Zealand attributes the modest increase to a range of markets and species, rather than any spectacular performer.

Exports of hoki to China for further processing, and largely re-export to the United States, is probably the most significant of the increasing export trend.

The export value for the eight months to the end of August shows an increase in returns, from $20 million to $31 million. This was not just a result of increase in the hoki quota catch in New Zealand, but also an increase of 25 per cent in the average value achieved in China (after freight and insurance were deducted) going from 226 cents, to 282 cents per kilo.

On the other hand, exports to countries in southern Europe, Spain, Greece and Italy, have fallen significantly in the first half of 2012, compared with 2011. The decrease appears to have hurt sales of most species, but exports of squid, ling and hake may also have been depressed by difficulties with export certificates issued by New Zealand for fish caught by foreign charter vessels.

ENDS

Economic_Review_Issue_Oct_2012.pdf

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