New Zealand sends its highest-quality food overseas while importing cheaper, often lower-quality alternatives for domestic consumption, according to a new report that highlights an economic paradox at the heart of the country's food system, RNZ reports.
The pattern is stark: premium New Zealand beef, lamb, dairy products, and seafood head to export markets in Asia, Europe, and North America, while Kiwi shoppers buy imported processed foods, frozen vegetables, and lower-grade proteins.
It's an absurd situation when you think about it. New Zealand produces some of the world's best food. Then it ships most of it overseas and imports stuff that wouldn't make the cut for export standards.
The economics are straightforward. Export markets pay premium prices. New Zealand producers can earn more selling to China, Japan, or the United States than to local supermarkets. So that's where the best product goes. What stays behind is either what didn't meet export grades or is priced to compete with imports.
The result is that New Zealand consumers often pay similar or higher prices for imported foods than they would for locally-produced equivalents, while the actual New Zealand-made premium products are on shelves in Shanghai or London.
The report highlights several examples. New Zealand exports premium lamb cuts while importing cheaper lamb and mutton from Australia. It sends high-grade dairy products overseas while importing processed cheese and dairy ingredients. Its seafood exports are top-tier, but supermarket fish cases are full of imported frozen product.
