Industry
Insights for Industry about trends in economic performance indicators.
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5610Total Filled jobs in mushroom and vegetable growing March 2021 (note - march selected instead of sept as numbers are highly seasonal and March is the peak)
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$622mGenerated as Fresh and Processed Vegetables Export Revenue for year ending June 2022
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28%Of all fresh and processed vegetables exported to Australia as at June 2022
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12,710Individuals worked in the Vegetables industries in 2020
Overview
When Māori arrived in Aotearoa, they brought some vegetables with them, including kūmara, yams and taro. European explorers and settlers began bringing vegetables in the late 18th century, with peas, maize and potatoes being some of the first to arrive. Māori became the first commercial vegetable growers in the country, trading with early settlers and exporting potatoes to Sydney, Australia in the 1830s.
By 2022, the Vegetable industry’s contribution to GDP was $466 million and we counted over 12,700 people in the workforce in 2020. The workforce is ethnically diverse, with a makeup of 32% Asian, 16% Māori and over 10% Pacific peoples. The industry is a fertile place for innovation in Māori agribusiness. For example, with support from Ministry for Primary Industries, the Whangaparāoa Māori Lands Trust has explored the potential of their whenua near Tihirau (Cape Runaway) to create jobs. Small plots of trial crops including kūmara, taewa (Māori potatoes), edamame beans and peanuts have been planted. The Whangaparāoa landowners cluster is made up of representatives of the owners of 25 Māori land blocks, covering 18,000 hectares of land.
Like other industries within the food and fibre sector, labour shortages continue to provide challenging conditions for growers, compounded by the seasonality of the work and lack of skills to support technological changes around production. At the same time, technological changes and innovation provide huge opportunity for the industry and may offer a solution to these ongoing labour shortages. Adaptable and flexible learning and training, that supports transferability of skills across industries will also be required.
Trends and Analysis
This section provides information about the workforce, industry and Vocational Education and Training (VET) provision and performance. It shows data and research focused on key aspects of Muka Tangata’s industry groups and learners. This section is expected to feature regular updates to the data and trends being showcased.
Opportunities
We highlight the current key priorities and opportunities for each industry, and links back to the supporting evidence base to show why they have been selected as a priority. These opportunities will be updated on an ongoing basis as our understanding of the industry evolves and deepens.
Qualifications | Vegetables
Non-Formal Learning | Vegetables
Skills | Vegetables
Diversity and Inclusion | Vegetables
Roadmap
This is our plan to address the opportunities that arose from our engagement, research and analysis. It includes real actions that we are committed to delivering – these are both industry specific and cross-cutting actions across all industries in the food and fibre sector where common themes emerged.
It includes broader areas or dependencies where external parties will need to provide input into solutions with Muka Tangata support; for example, advocacy, engagement, collaboration, and provision of specific expertise or data. We will work in collaboration with those who will need to take the lead in this area. This section will test potential solutions that we’re working on and seek feedback and input into them.