Horticulture New Zealand has congratulated Damien O’Connor on being appointed Minister of Agriculture, Biosecurity, Food Safety, Rural Communities and Associate Minister of Trade and Export Growth and that they look forward to working with the new Labour-led coalition Government in the days ahead, told President Julian Raine.
"Access to land, water and labour are the key components to keep horticulture growing and to enable access to healthy, fresh, affordable fruit and vegetables for all New Zealanders," Mr Raine says.
"Horticulture is essential to New Zealand. It is a $5.6 billion industry, with exports totalling $3.4 billion and New Zealanders being fed with the remaining $2.2 billion earned - that is, delivering fresh fruit and vegetables to New Zealanders every day to ensure a healthy diet."
"The new Government has expressed a desire to drive for better outcomes for New Zealanders and we look forward to working with them on delivering jobs and healthy food to contribute to that. We are particularly pleased to see planned investment in regions where horticulture has great capacity for growth," Mr Raine says.
Source: scoop.co.nz