21 Oct 2014

Bulk not the answer, says trade council

1:55 pm on 21 October 2014

A trade body is warning New Zealand can not rely on a few commodities to significantly boost business with China.

Leaders in Wellington and Beijing have set a goal of notching up $30 billion in two-way trade by 2020.

But according the New Zealand-China Council, relying on exporting dairy, wood and meat in bulk carries a big risk.

Executive director Pat English said there are more opportunities to make more money from high-end processed foods saying the majority of growth so far has been on volume not value.

"What we're talking about is more heavily-processed goods, we're talking about branded products sold into distribution.

"This means instead of sending out a large cut of meat, you're actually sending cuts of meat which are ready for consumption - something which is tailored to China, but things which are more processed," he said.