PACKERS
ON WAY TO
WORLD
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 19
Lincoln University agri-food marketing
expert Dr Nic Lees is criticising
food exporters who do not take advantage
of New Zealand’s positive
perception of the quality and safety
of food products, saying they are
missing out on a premium because
many overseas consumers are
unaware their food originates here.
Lees says the majority of New
Zealand’s exports are unbranded
commodities that are frequently not
identified to the overseas consumer
as being of Kiwi origin. “In Japan,
USA and Spain, New Zealand is
the second most trusted source
for fresh fruit and vegetables. This
is also true for other New Zealand
food exports,” he says. Consumers
in the US rate New Zealand beef
as a close second to local US beef.
“While the growing preference for
local food is a challenge for our food
exports, there is also a significant
opportunity to use this positive
view to capture greater value,”
Lees says. Where New Zealand
products are branded they capture
a significant premium, such as wine
and kiwifruit. The price per litre of
New Zealand wine is second only to
France, and New Zealand kiwifruit
exports are sold at a significant
premium over Italian or Chilean
products, Lees says. “If we can replicate
this with other food exports
then we can move away from the
current focus on increasing the
volume of agricultural products and
focus instead on increasing value.”
The joint venture between Jenkins
Group and the US-based Van Doren
Sales will help meet the global
challenges of processing increasing
quantities of fresh produce, and
give Robotics Plus a direct path to
market. Van Doren sales president
Bret Pittsinger says Global Pac has the
ability to move quickly on solutions
that could have global implications. “I
believe we are in a unique position to
predict many of the changing needs
in the fresh produce industry. The
combined efforts and communication
between our businesses will allow
us to stay close to the customer and
react quickly,” he says. “There is a
major opportunity to reduce some
of the pressures on production for
the global apple packing industry,
and in other fresh fruit and produce
sectors.” Pittsinger says a shift towards
automated packhouse operations
illustrates the lack of workers in the
fresh produce sector, and Global Pac
will be focusing on automation and
data analytics platformers to help
clients worldwide. The market for fresh
fruit alone has grown by 4% globally
over the past 10 years, mostly due
to higher populations and increasing
prosperity. The Aporo packer, which
identifies and places the apples in their
trays, has the ability to safely handle up
to 120 fruit per minute, the equivalent
of two people’s output. A number
of Robotics Plus packers have already
been installed, with more on the way,
in commercial post-harvest operators
in New Zealand and the United States.
PUT NZ
BRAND ON
ALL FOOD
Global Pac Technologies has
launched a hi-tech automated
robotic apple packer designed
in New Zealand onto the
global market, with Robotics
Plus-designed Aporo packers
the first to be sent overseas.
A lack of branding and
marketing is giving away the
potential to take advantage
of overseas consumers’
high regard for the country’s
produce.
seedling more effectively defend itself against
disease or pest attacks, and more efficiently use
water and nutrients from the soil for its entire
lifespan.”
Founded by world-renowned photobiologist
specialising in UV/plant interactions Dr Jason
Wargent, BioLumic has been spun out of leading
AgTech research from Massey University. Its
technology is rooted in more than a decade of
research into UV photomorphogenesis, a process
whereby a
precise UV treatment induces
plant root and leaf development and activates
its secondary metabolism.
“BioLumic has all of the elements necessary
for long-term success in the AgTech arena –a
dynamic management team, novel technology
and a substantial, rapidly growing market,”
Radicle chief executive and managing partner
Kirk Haney says. ”Given the multi-million-acre
opportunity for high-value crops and rapidly
growing seed treatment market, we think BioLumic
could change the Ag industry’s approach to
crop productivity and seed treatments by sustainably
turning on stronger plant characteristics
with the power of light.”
Initially focused on lettuce, broccoli, strawberry
and tomato seedlings, BioLumic will also use
the recent funding to accelerate the research
and commercialisation of its seed-focused
technology, expanding into row crop and vegetable
seeds in years ahead. The investment will
also be used to aggressively expand the Bio-
Lumic team in both New Zealand and its new
Californian office, and to intensify the global
deployment of its UV technologies.
Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund director
Richard O’Gorman says ag players are seeking
to find more sustainable ways to meet the growing
global food production demands. “BioLumic
is the first to take a UV approach to precision
seed/seedling treatments and we believe it has
the potential to significantly enhance the value
of produce for growers by enabling higher yield
and greater crop uniformity – in particular in
geographies where Rabo has a strong history of
serving farmers.”
time. Understanding and improvements in
the genome is impacting improvements not
only in genetics for yield, but also tackling
food quality and nutrition challenges.”
While there is a great cohort of quality New
Zealand agritech companies in all these areas,
Kukutai says open access to the best tech
from offshore is also key to maintaining New
Zealand’s position as a centre of excellence.
“We want to build a country partnership with
New Zealand that can help drive two-way tech
transfer and benefit our mutual networks that
seek to commercialise and share the benefits
with the world of more sustainable, productive
and quality agricultural outcomes.”
Light is an extremely
powerful biological
tool that can safely
manipulate plants...
Arama Kukutai
CASE STUDY
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