A collection of companies representing New Zealand’s key agriculture sectors has joined forces to establish a marketing operation in Shanghai.
Primary Collaboration (Shanghai) (PCNZ) was officially launched on Wednesday (8 April) with the opening its new office in Shanghai’s Xintiandi district by New Zealand’s Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce.
PCNZ was formed late last year to provide ‘in-market’ services in China to its six founding members who are each active in the Chinese market and represent different sectors of New Zealand’s primary industries.
The founding shareholders include Pacific Pace (horticulture), Sealord (fisheries), Silver Fern Farms (meat), Synlait Milk (dairy), Villa Maria Estate (wines) and Kono (seafood).
Pacific Pace is itself a collaboration between leading New Zealand apple-based horticulture businesses, Mr Apple, Crasborn and JM Bostock. The three producers share the Diva apple brand.
Former New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Commissioner Kevin Parish has been appointed general manager of PCNZ and the company is now recruiting market managers to represent the members companies’ brands and support the existing distribution network.
Parish said PCNZ is a new innovative business model for China designed to deliver value to the members beyond what they could achieve individually.
“China is a challenging market for New Zealand companies and anything we can do better to understand the complexities of it, and support our in-market partners, represents a positive step forward,” he commented.
“With the office now established we are in recruitment mode looking for quality managers and administrative staff to support the team,” said Parish. “Once the team is in place we can start building relationships with importers, wholesalers, customers and both New Zealand and Chinese government officials based in China.”
Andy Borland, the chairman of PCNZ, was in Shanghai for the opening of the office this week. Borland is also managing director of Scales Corporation, which owns major vertically integrated apple business Mr Apple.
The collaboration stems from the inaugural New Zealand Primary Sector Bootcamp held by industry chief executives and government agency leaders at Stanford University in the US in 2012. Borland said the meeting discussed at length at how it could improve New Zealand’s understanding of the vast Chinese market.
“Creating an in-market presence to improve and facilitate our respective business interests there seemed like a no-brainer,” Borland said.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has supported the venture by providing resources and co-investment, in effect matching costs associated with the members’ formation funding.
