New Zealand's horticultural industry is based largely on the export of kiwifruit, pipfruit, wine, and fresh and processed vegetables.
Kiwifruit and wine are the biggest earners, each with export values in excess of $1 billion.
However, there is a lot of niche development and innovation in the industry, with avocados, berryfruit, summerfruit, olive oil and other crops being exported or having future export potential.
More Information about Horticulture in NZ
The major horticulture industries by export earnings are:
The horticulture sector in New Zealand has a strong tradition of innovation, including examples such as ZESPRI® Gold kiwifruit and several apples varieties including the Pacific series and JazzTM.
MAF administers a range of innovation funds, grant schemes and other initiatives intended to promote sustainable development within the primary sectors and rural communities through the Sustainable Farming Fund , the Primary Growth Partnership and other Funding Programmes.
MAF's Farm Monitoring programme includes the horticulture and arable sectors, looking at on-farm production and financial status.
MAF's Situation and Outlook for New Zealand Agriculture & Forestry (SONZAF) report provides an annual overview of issues faced by the horticulture industry, and a medium-term forecast of the situation in the three to four years ahead. Statistics New Zealand collects data on behalf of MAF on a yearly basis. The Agricultural Production Survey provides information about crop growing (including grain and seed crops, fruit and vegetables, wine grapes and nursery plants), and farm practices (including irrigation and fertiliser use). Community-led innovation, collaboration, and sustainability are the themes of a report, Sustainable Farming Fund: Ten Years of Grassroots Action, released in October 2010 to mark 10 years of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Sustainable Farming Fund.