An agribusiness authority told a seafood industry conference that food exporters and marketers selling into China should be working under a unified NZ Inc. banner.
Speaking in Wellington yesterday, Professor of farm management and agribusiness at Lincoln University Keith Woodford said there are big price premiums to be gained in China if the provenance of goods can be guaranteed.
He said marketers aren't taking full advantage of the New Zealand story as a selling point.
"The NZ Inc. concept - there's a lot of rhetoric, we talk about NZ Inc., but I don't really see it out there at this stage in the marketplace.
I actually see all our industries still essentially operating independently of each other and the overall integration across the industry."
Professor Woodford said on-line purchases and home deliveries provide an incredible opportunity in China which New Zealand companies have been slow to get on to.
"So the Chinese cannot go on line and know that there's one site they can log onto and order their food , it might be guaranteed by a New Zealand entity and you know that everything is of genuine provenance."
