European Frozen Fry Exports to New Zealand
Source: World Trade Data – Exports of frozen fries from Belgium, France and the Netherlands
For the period ending January 2024:
- Export volume to New Zealand has been very strong with a new supplier, France, entering the fray.
- The easing of export price appears to have ended latest month and this could be expected to be continued with European manufacturers facing record raw material prices for this time of year.
- A significant volume of the imports from France have been imported by the NZ processing industry.
Exports of frozen fries to New Zealand from Belgium and the Netherlands
Other global insights:
- Wet weather in Europe has meant that growers have not been able to plant as normal which is pushing up raw material prices. This is compounded by shortfalls in supply from last seasons crop where wet weather meant a significant quantity of potatoes were unable to be harvested.
- Globally, the situation in Europe is balanced by a very good crop in North America.
New Zealand Frozen Potato Exports and Imports
Source: New Zealand Statistics – All Frozen Potato Products
Imports
Total imports last 12 months 31,231 tonnes with annual growth 53%. Growth on quarter is 50%.
- Import growth remains high for both Australia and Europe.
- France has quickly become the third largest supplier to New Zealand. We know from the export data that we purchase, that 2,245 tonnes is frozen fries, with the balance being other frozen potato products.
- A proportion of these imports from France is the New Zealand processing industry.
- Belgium as a supplier is in heavy decline but is more than made up by increased imports from France and the Netherlands.
- Encouragingly imports from China have pretty much declined to nil.
Exports
- It is great to see the turn around in performance on the quarter with export growth of 40% across a number of key markets.
- With sales to the top 6 markets all being in double digits plus, with the exception of Taiwan, it has been a great quarter for the New Zealand industry.
- Sales to Japan are an issue with this market hotly contested by all major processing nations it would seem as well as newly emerging China.
- Summary of key export markets below.
Exports to all markets with annual sales greater than 3,000 tonnes.
Imports from all key markets.