North America
The debate around lab-grown meat, also known as cell-cultivated and cell-based meat is heating up in the US with industry members watching with interest. Lab-grown meat is developed from cells drawn from live animals, combined with a nutrient mixture of proteins and vitamins, and cultivated in vats that look similar to beer breweries. Currently a time-intensive and expensive process, lobbyists and trade groups are working to shape the pending 2023 farm bill hoping to secure funding traditionally allocated to agriculture for research to scale volume and reduce price. Two cultivated meat products were approved by regulators for public consumption in the US this year, but major technological, cost and scientific hurdles exist before the technology can feed a meaningful number of people and guarantee lower emissions than traditional meat production processes. Kiwi meat exporters should keep an eye on the debate and future developments with the The US representing Zealand’s second largest red meat market, valued at $2.3 billion in 2022.
Social media platforms have been taking a hit in North America recently. Effective 1 June the stat of Montana banned Tik Tok, WeChat and Telegram on all state-issued cell phones, laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and other devices that connect to the internet. The ban doesn’t just apply to government employees, but also to any third-party firms conducting business for or on behalf of the State of Montana. Plans are underway to ban Tik Tok statewide from 1 January 2024, or app stores will face hefty fines of up to $10,000 for each illegal download. In Canada lawmakers recently passed the Online News Act which is expected to come into effect by the end of the year. The Act requires social media platforms and search engines such as Meta and Google to negotiate with news publishers to license their content. Meta’s response to block all news links was widely criticised as dangerous as it coincided with Canada’s worst wildfire season on record.
Gary Fortune, Kea North America Regional Director
UK and Europe
Kiwi businesses using Facebook and Instagram to target customers in Europe may see organic reach and targeted ad performance start to change in the coming months. The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) came into force on 25 August. The DSA requires 19 specified larger platforms and search engines, like Meta and Tik Tok, to provide users in the region with the ability to switch off AI-driven personalisation, the feature which selects and displays content based on tracking and profiling individual users. Under the DSA, users must be offered a choice of a feed where content sorting is not based on tracking. For example, on Facebook and Instagram, users will have the option to view Stories and Reels only from people they follow, ranked in chronological order, newest to oldest. They will also be able to view search results based only on the words they enter, rather than personalised specifically to them based on their previous activity and personal interests. This option is not available to UK users, who will start to see a growing privacy rights gap compared to their counterparts elsewhere in Europe.
New Zealand’s Free Trade Agreements with the UK and the EU include commitments to take steps to prevent modern slavery in our supply chains and to promote responsible business conduct. Since the pandemic, modern slavery ballooned globally. Last month the Government announced New Zealand is working to deliver on its commitments to the FTAs by introducing new legislation requiring organisations and businesses to be transparent about their operations and supply chains through a new public register. Kiwi organisations with over $20 million in revenue will be required to report and outline the actions they take to address exploitation risks in their operations and supply chains. This proposed legislation and public register will be among the world’s strongest reporting systems for tackling modern slavery.
Finally it has been a big few months for sport in Europe with Spain and England going head to head in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup this month, co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. As UK sports tourists head home from the Southern Hemisphere, the UK has seen an influx of Kiwis in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, with many Kiwi exporters timing trips to market to coincide with matches. The opening match between France and New Zealand take place on 8 September.
Sara Fogarty, Kea UK/Europe Regional Director
China
This month we have seen a continued growing interest into the food and agriculture sector with Alibaba founder Ma Yun, launching his new investment company “One Metre eighty centimeters”. The company aims to invest into agriculture and food businesses, with the goal of ensuring Chinese children reach an average height of 1.8 meters through good nutrition. Kiwi exporters will not doubt watch these advancements with interest as they look to continue to compete for a piece of the China market.
China is also looking to increase it’s focus on recycling ad sustainability driven in part by the effect of continued extreme weather around the country. The’Recycling Rewards Program’ is seeing more housing compounds receive a paper recycling vending machine. Residents simply feed their cardboard into the machine and in exchange receive an instant cash transfer to their digital wallet. The current price is 1KG for CNY1.2 (NZD0.28). This practice was first adopted in 2014 but is currently being pushed out to more cities.
Finally this month, to celebrate the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Consulate General of Australia, New Zealand and Kea hosted a joint event in Shanghai. Thanks to the local expat community who came together at El Santo in downtown to watch the game and cheer both teams on.
Rebecca Bao, China Regional Director
New Zealand
This month saw the announcement that the Government has worked with BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investors in climate infrastructure and clean technology, to launch a $2 billion fund with the goal of making New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to reach 100% renewable electricity. The fund will provide access to greater pools of capital for New Zealand businesses, supporting the creation of highly skilled local jobs. It is expected to accelerate green energy options like solar, wind, green hydrogen and battery storage to fuel a low emissions economy.
On 11 August Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Hon Damien O’Connor, met with his Australian counterpart, Senator Don Farrell, for the Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers meeting. Ministers released a statement outlining priorities for advancing economic collaboration under CER in its 40th anniversary year and also signed the Australia-New Zealand Sustainable and Inclusive Trade Declaration, supporting our transition to more inclusive, sustainable and resilient economies fit for the 21st century. This includes ensuring that the rights and economic interests of Indigenous Peoples are reinforced by international trade and investment policy and activities. It also demonstrates our commitment to work together on issues such as modern slavery, biodiversity loss, plastics pollution, and climate change.
The impact of the dairy sector on New Zealand’s economy was illustrated this month with lower milk prices expected to wipe out nearly $2 billion from dairy industry revenues and take $5 billion off the country’s GDP. Fonterra lowered their forecast per kilogram milk solids price by approximately $1, and economists estimate a reduction in industry revenue of $1.9 billion. This will have a flow-on effect on government tax take and domestic spending on things like capital items and fertiliser,
Finally, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023 wrapped up on 20 August, with the title going to Spain. As co-host with Australia, New Zealand hosted 29 games which were attended by over 700,000 spectators and attracted over 20,000 international visitors to our shores, a whopping 15,000 estimated to have visited from the US alone.
Saya Wahrlich, Global Director, Government & Industry
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