Jessica Walker: Consumer NZ Acting Head of Research and Advocacy on Wattie's encouraging consumers to buy NZ-grown peaches

The influence of the New Zealand-made label appears to be decreasing as more consumers prioritise price. 

Wattie's is ending some of its contracts with Hawke's Bay peach growers and says more people are choosing imported alternatives. 

It says the demand for New Zealand-grown peaches has seen a steady decline in recent years.

Consumer NZ Acting Head of Research and Advocacy Jessica Walker says less and less consumers are prioritising locally-sourced products.

"At the same time, we're seeing concerns about price, cost of food and groceries ratchet up...more people are cutting back on fruit and veg altogether, so I'm not surprised."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, what is blaming consumers for the company's decision to
stop using Kiwi peaches or at least cut back on it.
It's his demand for New Zealand grown can fruit has dropped,
with shoppers more inclined to buy cheaper imports, and so
it's encouraged us to buy local. Jisica Walker is consuming
New Zealand's acting head of Research and Advocacy and with
us how low Jisica Hi, Heather, do you think encouraging

(00:21):
us to buy locally produced is going to work?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
It's really interesting because we know right now price is
trumping absolutely everything else, and so we do lots of
research around consumer sentiments, not specifically around fruit and vegetable,
but just in general. And what we're seeing is the
percentage of people saying that locally owned when as being
a purchase in consideration, we're seeing that drop off massively.

(00:47):
At the same time, we're seeing concerns about price cost
of food and groceres ratchet up to the point that
you know in our latest supermarket survey, and more and
more people are cutting back on f and veg and
meat altogether. So I'm not surprised to see that if
it's a case of having cheaper tend or no tinned
fruit than they're going for the cheap eruption.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
At what point do you think how much more would
we pay for local before we stop paying more for local?
Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah? Yeah, So that's really interesting. And as I say, so,
we've been looking at goods in general, so not specifically
tinned fruit. But we've said only five percent of people
have told us that they're willing to pay a lot more,
and about fourteen percent of people have said that this
is a consideration. So I think there are definitely people
in the market who are willing to pay more for
a local or what would be a premium product, but

(01:39):
for most people it's just about stucking the pantry and
so sadly right now, price trumps everything.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Okay, I mean, part of the reason I don't think
this is going to work from what he is and
they're only giving it a very half hearted a team.
But part of the reason I don't think it's going
to work is because buy New Zealand Made has never
actually worked, does it.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
So just talking to your producer and I always have
ten peaches in my pantry, and I'll be honest I've
never looked at where they come from, so it's not
a purchasing consideration of mine. But even today we've had
emails from somebody saying that outraged by this decision because
for them, the most important thing is New Zealand made.
And so there's definitely going to be a subset of
consumers that once these hawks bay beautiful peaches that were

(02:20):
growing down the road that you can see in the orchards,
and so yeah, I can understand why some people are
outraged by their decision. So New Zealand made for a
subset of consumers is a really important factor. But as
I say, right now, for the vast majority, that's not
even a consideration.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Do you have any view as to whether we are
seeing China dumping peaches.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
Again? Really interesting? So this is the concept that I
wasn't aware of until this afternoon, and we're looking at
the peach situation, and it seems like what is a
well within the rights you know, to be asking mb
to looking to this, because it sounds like there's been
an influx of much cheaper product, which of course is
going to have an impact on the domestic market. And

(02:59):
so it sounds like in the past different countries dumping
things here has led to Levey's been put on and
so it'd be interesting to see if this request does
lead to a levy of more Chinese peaches and what
that would do for the domestic market.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
Yeah, thanks very much, Jessica, I appreciate. That's Jessica Walker,
consuming New Zealand's acting head of Research and Advocacy. So
what there is a suspicion, It may be possible the
reason that we have such cheap peaches and there is
I'm just say a suspicion. No more than that is
because China may bee dumping peaches in New Zealand. So
what is went to MB, I think maybe about twenty

(03:33):
twenty three, asked them to take a look at it.
They looked at it, they said no, there's no evidence
that China is dumping because we just can't find it.
So they close that investigation moved on. It looks like
what he has gone back to MB again this year,
just a few months ago and ask them to look
at it again. Possible that that is what's happening, but
it doesn't. At this stage MB hasn't found anything. If
MB finds something, then we start adding some anti dumping

(03:56):
levies on which we were actually doing on Chinese peaches
until twenty seventeen. In sor it's a possibility as well.
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