FAIR AND SUSTAINABLE PRODUCE PRICES – FREE BOOK

“Fair and Sustainable Produce Prices” was several years in the making, ever since I realised that the produce industry will need to look outside its own competency networks for help in addressing the very real industry challenges it faces.

I arrived in the produce industry at a time when fundamental change was just around the  corner, starting with the demise of the produce auction system, the introduction of computerised inventory and accounting systems, the dominance and rationalisation drive displayed by the supermarket sector; being followed by the commercialisation of the Internet, and the emergence of China as both a significant produce importer and an increasingly more serious contributor towards export business written across some key produce categories globally.

Here in New Zealand, several additional factors emerged as contributors to changes in the strategic landscape governing the produce industry. These are net population growth through immigration, the deregulation of the economy that started under the Lange Labour Government, the injection of offshore investment capital, and the reputation,  mana and success, particularly of our kiwifruit and pipfruit industry sectors have consistently managed to achieve in their export markets.

In such dynamic market conditions, no industry can afford to sit still. The horticulture and produce industries have most certainly taken the need for adaptive and flexible business strategies to heart, in many cases with enviable results.

Yet one fundamental issue awaits advancement. As an industry, we have developed considerable skill sets in the value creation area, but we have some way to go when it comes to capturing the value we have created.