Why NZ’s food and fibre future hangs by a thread

Words: Fenton Hazlewood

The landscape hasn’t just shifted. It’s been quietly, radically reshaped – while most weren’t watching.

While the PM and government ministers ride the high of booming dairy, beef, and kiwifruit export figures, a silent collapse is spreading through the rest of New Zealand’s food and fibre sector. Wine grapes. Export onions. Domestic vegetable growers.

Once strong, they’re fighting to survive in a system that’s lost its balance.

Beneath the surface lies a brutal truth: Innovation is smothered by regulatory inertia, industry complacency, and a flood of generic products.

And the ones in power? They’re clapping for the headline numbers – completely blind to what’s lost in the fine print.

The data doesn’t lie – but we keep ignoring it

Each year, I scan the public data from ACVM registrations.

Every grower and every supplier could access this, but barely anyone does.

Why? Because the truth is uncomfortable: We are being overwhelmed by generics.

Before you assume I’m anti-generic, pause. I’m not.

Generics absolutely have a role. But let’s not pretend that role hasn’t changed. And not just from global and domestic players.

Local resellers are now scrambling to justify their place in this evolving ecosystem.

Generic portfolios are no longer the backup plan. They are the front line.

And as regulatory approvals for new active ingredients and biologicals continue to stall – thanks to a severely risk-averse EPA and a sluggish, outdated system – the pipeline for true innovation keeps shrinking.

And the clock keeps ticking.

Innovation isn’t a luxury – it’s survival

Most growers want to do the right thing. They know their future depends on better, smarter inputs.

But it’s hard to act when input costs are rising, the rules keep shifting, and every product decision feels like a gamble.

This is the part too many overlook – because it hurts to admit:

Even generic suppliers are beginning to feel the heat. They’re being asked tough questions about value, differentiation, and integrity.

Price alone doesn’t cut it anymore.

The shift from commodity pricing to meaningful positioning isn’t coming. It’s already here.

A broken system can’t lead a thriving sector

The signals are there. The question is – are we brave enough to read them?

Our food and fibre sector delivers more than $59 billion in export value (with the Government planning to double that by 2034).

We lead the world in dairy, beef, kiwifruit and more.

Yet, the regulatory frameworks designed to support this engine of our economy – EPA, MPI, ACVM – are misaligned, lethargic, and out of step with the pace of global change.

Export regulations on chemical use – like MRL limits in Japan, Taiwan, the EU, and beyond – are tightening.

Resistance issues are mounting. Have we met the required metrics to supply the EU under the new Free Trade Agreement? And still, the system grinds on at a glacial pace.

This isn’t just inefficient. It’s dangerous.

The emotional cost of inaction

This one hits deep, because it’s already happening.

My heart aches for the growers who don’t even realise the ground is shifting beneath them.

This is for those who want to make better choices but can’t access the tools to do so.

For suppliers who remain locked into safe, familiar patterns, while the future walks out the back door.

There’s emotional fatigue. Economic pressure that squeezes decision-making. A gnawing uncertainty that never quite lets go.

If we don’t figure out how to support innovation – together – it won’t just stall. It will vanish.

What matters now

Transparency isn’t a buzzword. It’s a lifeline. Grower ownership isn’t a luxury. It’s the only model that aligns incentives to outcomes.

And quiet alignment – not noise, not sales spins – is what earns trust in the trenches.

The most powerful thing we can do is stop pretending this is someone else’s problem. Because it’s not, it’s everyone’s.

It’s not about blame. It’s about urgency.

This is no longer about who’s right or wrong.

It’s about who’s willing to lead, act, and have the tough conversations that spark real change.

If we don’t protect innovation now, we risk losing the very sector that feeds our economy – and our families.

So here’s the challenge:

• If you're a consumer of food and fibre products, write to your local MP. Your voice matters more than you may think.

• If you're a grower, demand more than price lists. Ask who’s backing your future.

• If you’re a supplier, does your go-to-market strategy stand for something, or is it just about shelf space?

• If you're a reseller, and all you've got is margin, you're playing a short game.

• If you're a regulator, step out of the office. Talk to the people carrying the cost of your delays.

• If you're in government, stop clapping for the GDP and look under the hood. The system is cracking.

This is the moment

The old model is gone.

The new one is being built by those with courage, honesty, and backbone.

Let’s not be the generation that watched it all collapse while celebrating record exports.

Let’s be the ones who stood up and said: "Enough. The future is ours to rebuild – and we start today."