New Zealand exports more than 380,000 tonnes of kiwi fruits last year.
The New Zealand government has invested NZD 16.65m ($11.12m) in a research programme that will seek to transform the country’s primary food production into added value exports.
The funding from the government’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will allow researchers from Massey University – as well as partner institutions the University of Auckland, the Riddet Institute and the University of Otago, alongside AgResearch and Plant & Food Research – to research certain stages in food processing.
It is hoped that the partnership will allow researchers to develop new stages – or unit operations – and extend the applications of existing technologies to enable manufacturers to improve their efficiencies.
Research leader Prof Richard Archer said” “In funding the programme, the ministry is targeting the huge value that downstream processing offers. Currently, much farm gate production leaves New Zealand with only minimal processing, particularly for Māori food assets, which are now concentrated in primary production.
“While this new research programme enables new food processing capability, it sits alongside existing funded programmes, including the High-Value Nutrition national science challenge, the industry-targeted Primary Growth Partnerships and the BioResource Processing Alliance. The alliance is focused on returning value from various biological product streams that otherwise find only low-value outlets or go to waste.”
“The large-scale collaborative approach to research is the most efficient way for New Zealand to make rapid progress,” added Plant & Food Research CEO Peter Landon-Lane.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024