Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
17 Nov 2017 - Dealing with irregular bearing is a problem the New Zealand avocado industry needs to solve, according to AVOCO the nation's largest marketing company for the fruit. Martin Napper, Export Marketing Executive at Primor Produce, part of the AVOCO venture which owns the AVANZA brand, says at a time when consumption and demand is increasing strongly, the market still provides some inconsistency.
"At the moment it seems that we spend one year building markets and the next apologising for short supply," Mr Napper said. "A very frustrating situation especially when demand is so strong in all of our markets and many other markets AVANZA is yet to enter, such as Taiwan and China. With larger crops expected over time a lot of research is being directed toward this (irregular bearing)."
AVOCO is a joint venture marketing company between Primor Produce Ltd and Southern Produce Ltd. AVANZA is a brand of AVOCO used in markets outside of Australia, which is the major export market at around 80 per cent. It also supplies to Asian markets including Korea (7%), Japan (5%), Singapore (3%), as well as small volumes to Thailand, Malaysia, and India.
Mr Napper says AVOCO volumes are half that of last year, but values are up around 30 per cent. Some reasons behind this is the lower than predicted volume from within Australia has seen the Australian market a lot firmer than expected for this time of the year, with current values usually seen in January and February when Australian volumes are at their lowest. He anticipates prices staying firm with retail prices currently at AU$3.90/piece which challenges consumption.
The Export Marketing Executive adds there are plenty of positives, with higher returns and optimism in the category has seen about 1,000 hectares of new plantings over the past year, meaning there is currently a three year waiting list for trees. In addition, early forecasts are encouraging for a bigger crop in 2018 as well as China market access is close with protocols ready to be signed-off soon. This access could in time open up a big opportunity for New Zealand.
"The country's avocado industry is a very cohesive industry able to adapt quickly to customer export requirements, such as nil detectable chemical MRL’s in Korea and new China protocols," Mr Napper said. "With a quality offering it is well placed to take up future opportunities for growth. Avocado continues to defy gravity with its popularity and social media interest."
AVOCO/AVANZA’s share of New Zealand industry is around 64 per cent, and the company is also reporting that industry export volumes are around half of last year; 2.5million (5.5kg) trays compared with 4.8m last year. But he sees plenty of future opportunity in the medium to long term for expansion in the company's major market, to meet the rapidly growing demand across the Tasman.
"There is still some industry uncertainty as to final crop volume," Mr Napper said. "In Australia we are flowing fruit to fit programmes through to late February. Australian consumption just keeps on increasing and it is predicted that with an increase in per head consumption from 3.5kg to 5kg coupled with increasing population growth they will move from the current 16 million trays to 24 million over the next 8-10 years. With seasonality of supply, a proportion of this demand will need to be supplied from New Zealand."
Korea has also shown rapid growth from 250,000 trays three years ago to 500,000 last year and now fast approaching 1 million trays this year from all origins and at good value, including New Zealand, California and Mexico. Mr Napper says Korea is a good market for AVANZA as it prefers large size fruit, which suits New Zealand’s crop profile.
| Continue here to read the full article published by FreshPlaza || November 16, 2017 |||
16 Nov 2017 - The launch of Virgin Australia’s daily Melbourne-Hong Kong services on 12 November was designed to meet growing demand for cargo capacity on the route, according to Virgin Atlantic Cargo, which provides long-haul international cargo sales and management for Virgin Australia.
Volumes have been increasing steadily in both directions since Virgin Australia commenced five Airbus A330-200 flights a week in July. The extra capacity provided by the new daily service will support the peak perishables season ex Australia as well as thriving e-commerce and courier business from Hong Kong.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo has generated over 1,200 tonnes of freight and courier traffic since the route began. Regular shipments have included garments, shoes, electronics goods, vitamins, milk powder and meat. The appointment in August of Jarrod Paterson as account manager in Melbourne has also helped the airline develop other lines of business, such as shipments of fresh lobster, Abalone and chilled salmon from Tasmania to Hong Kong.
Continued inward business investment in Melbourne is also expected to help sustain long-term cargo demand. Amazon is one of the latest global brands to announce fresh investment in the state of Victoria with its plans for a 24,000 square metre e-commerce distribution centre in Melbourne.
Pip Palmer, Virgin Atlantic’s Regional Sales Manager, Australia and New Zealand, said: “Cargo volumes to and from Melbourne have exceeded our expectations so far. There are a series of positive business indicators that show not only a consistent level of demand from our current customers but also opportunities for new traffic like we have started to generate from Tasmania.”
Virgin Atlantic, which has provided long-haul international sales for Virgin Australia since 2009, also sells capacity on Virgin Australia’s operations from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne to Los Angeles. Shipments to and from Australia can also connect with its global network over both Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
Freight volumes have been increasing steadily in both directions since Virgin Australia commenced five Airbus A330-200 flights a week in July.
| A T&L New srelease || November 16, 2017 |||
16 Nov 2017 - The International Energy Agency’s new forecast that demand for natural gas will increase 45% by 2040 is a major opportunity for New Zealand, says the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ). “Global demand for natural gas is only going to grow because it has half the greenhouse emissions of coal. This means that producing and exporting it from New Zealand has the potential to be a win-win outcome for global emissions and for our economy,” says PEPANZ CEO Cameron Madgwick.
“The report clearly highlights the role natural gas can play in reducing emissions by replacing coal in industrial processes and power generation. This reinforces the need for new exploration and development of our natural resources, benefiting New Zealand and the world.
“Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is going to be a major growth industry and this is great news for New Zealand given our potential deposits.
“Much of the demand is likely to come from China, India and other Asian countries. Other nations are eager to meet this demand and by the mid-2020s the United States is projected to become the world’s largest LNG exporter.
“This is an export industry New Zealand can and should be a part of. It could mean more jobs, exports and earnings for the Government through royalties and taxes.
“Taranaki is the only region currently producing but we know other areas have great promise. The recent report by New Zealand Oil and Gas looked at the Barque prospect off the coast of Oamaru and predicted it could generate $32 billion in taxes and royalties for the Government over the life of the field.”
The International Energy Agency also forecasts that global oil demand will continue to grow to 2040. While fuel efficiency and electric vehicles will reduce use by passenger cars, other sectors such as trucks, planes and shipping will continue to drive demand.
The 2017 World Energy Outlook can be found at: http://www.iea.org/weo2017/
| A PEPANZ release || November 16, 2017 |||
16 Nov 2017 - Mozilla's latest browser — Firefox Quantum — is lightning fast, sleek, and ready to handle all six zillion of your tabs after almost two months in beta. Nick Nguyen, Firefox's vice president of product, told Mashable his biggest fear: Will the Internet full of Google Chrome-enthusiasts give it a chance?
"My biggest fear is that people won't try it," he said. "It's like any release — you do this to make people's lives better. If people aren't using your product, you don't have an opportunity to do that."
And the folks at Firefox have big plans. Nguyen won't rest until Quantum overtakes Google Chrome to become the average internet user's primary browser. "Today, people use Firefox as their secondary browser," he told Mashable. "We think it's good enough to be your first browser."
There's only one way to find out. So come on, close Chrome for two seconds and give it a try.
| A Mashable release || November 16, 2017 |||
16 Nov 2017 – New Zealand is calling out for expert help from the U.S. to fill a massive construction and engineering skills and talent shortage as it struggles to cope with the largest infrastructure and housing build in the Pacific nation’s history.
The new Labour-led Government is introducing a special “KiwiBuild” fast track visa system to facilitate the search for top construction talent, spearheaded by an innovative international recruitment campaign called LookSee Build NZ.
LookSee Build NZ is a consortium of private companies, local body entities and government organisations. The aim of the campaign is to attract some of the more than 56,000 construction and engineering staff, including 2,200 high-end specialist positions, New Zealand needs for the more than NZ$125 billion program of infrastructure works over the next decade.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has also announced a new NZ$2 billion housing program for the construction of 10,000 homes a year for 10 years, as well as a program of infrastructure works in addition to the existing pipeline.
Looksee Build spokesman and construction consultant Aaron Muir says it is the first time New Zealand’s public and private construction sector have combined in a single cause but the need for top talent is so acute it required an innovative approach to talent procurement.
Engineers, particularly in the areas of geotechnical, seismic, civil and structural, are top of New Zealand’s shopping list because of the Christchurch and Kaikoura earthquakes, a nationwide seismic audit of buildings and significant compliance issues with historic buildings around the country.
But a broad range of specialist skills are required across the board and the campaign is offering a sweetener to entice Americans to migrate with a range of quintessential ‘Kiwi experiences,’ such as fishing, surfing and canoeing safaris, cultural events and the chance to see stunning sites of natural beauty, Muir says.
If people do get a job as a result of LookSee Build NZ their airfares to New Zealand will be repaid, he adds.
Over the past 12 months LookSee has seen unprecedented interest from US professionals looking to relocate to New Zealand. “We had a great response earlier this year to our LookSee Wellington campaign for tech workers to come to our capital and we believe New Zealand’s work and lifestyle environment will also appeal to construction professionals,” says Muir.
Former Californian Casey Giberson, a Discipline Manager, Resilience, for environmental and engineering consultancy Tonkin + Taylor, says the attraction of New Zealand is twofold: lifestyle and the breadth and complexity of construction work.
“It’s a small country and you can come down here and really make a difference for public good and that’s a rare and precious thing,” says Giberson. “We’re not looking for over designed or over engineered infrastructure and buildings however we are looking for people who can come up with simple and ingenious ways to create a tailored solution to a complex problem – we need those skills.”
Giberson started out in California doing transportation engineering and planning and then land development and associated infrastructure. In his 11 years in New Zealand he has covered a diverse range of disciplines, including exposure to specialist technical areas which Giberson believes has future-proofed his career.
In addition to the world class construction projects across the country Muir says the ‘Kiwi experiences’ will give them a real taste of the lifestyle that is available if they choose to live in New Zealand”.
More information about the recruitment campaign can be found at www.lookseebuildnewzealand.co.nz.
About LookSee Build NZLookSee Build NZ is an innovative international talent procurement program that turns the traditional recruitment process on its head by taking the opportunities in New Zealand to the world and, in turn, bringing the world back to New Zealand. It is specifically designed to address an acute skills and talent shortage in the construction and engineering sectors and future-proof the building industry as the country gears up for the largest infrastructure and housing build in the nation’s history. Acting on behalf of a range of participating employers, including public and private sector entities, the LookSee Build NZ campaign is targeting highly skilled professionals from the US, particularly seismic and structural engineers, to assist them in becoming ‘New Zealand-ready’ before match-making candidates who are interested, qualified and available with the appropriate employer.
| Published in The American Surveyor Nov 10, 2017 |||
16 Nov 2017 - Emirates and Thales have signed a new agreement to equip the airline’s Boeing 777X fleet with the next generation broadband inflight connectivity using Inmarsat GX global network. The partnership will give Emirates customers best in class connectivity with speeds of up to 50Mbps on its Boeing 777X aircraft due for delivery starting in 2020. Emirates and Thales already have an existing multi-million-dollar deal to fit its Boeing 777X fleet with a next generation Thales AVANT inflight entertainment system. The new agreement is part of the Emirates’ and Thales’ plans to develop and enhance the state-of-the-art inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) on the 777X fleet.
Over the years, Emirates has invested over US $200 million to equip its aircraft with connectivity. Demand for Wi-Fi on board has been steadily increasing and today over 800,000 passengers per month connect while inflight, including travellers from New Zealand on Emirates’ daily A380 flights from Auckland and Christchurch.
Emirates offers all its customers 20MB of complimentary Wi-Fi data on board while Emirates Skywards members in First Class and Business Class enjoy unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi and discounted plans in Economy Class.
Emirates, Thales and Inmarsat have invested heavily in the new generation Wi-Fi solution and will work together to meet increasing demand for Wi-Fi on board. Broadband connectivity speeds coupled with Thales’ AVANT innovative and highly customisable IFE system will provide a further boost to Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice.
As well as operating a fleet of 100 A380s, Emirates is the largest operator of the Boeing 777 aircraft, one of the most popular and advanced wide-bodied aircraft in commercial operation today. The airline has 165 Boeing 777s in its fleet, and a further 164 on firm order, including 150 of the next generation Boeing 777X aircraft.
| An Emirates release || November 16, 2017 |||
Series said to outstrip Game of Thrones
Amazon’s acquisition of the television rights of the Tolkien fantasies promises to wash up profitably on New Zealand’s shores.
The objective is to create another television hit to rival Game of Thrones.
Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate trustees has involved New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which was involved in Sir Peter Jackson’s Tolkien series.
Having acquired the rights, Amazon is under no pressure to start production. So there is no indication yet the degree to which, if at all, Sir Peter’s various special effects enterprises in the Wellington suburb of Miramar will be involved in the Amazon re-pressing of the Tolkien saga.
The Murdoch family controlled publisher Harper Collins is involved with the deal indicating that there will be massive publishing collateral to the television deal.
This will be reinforced in the legacy media because Amazon also controls the point of view newspaper the Washington Post.
Not entirely good news for the Miramar artisan fantasy factories is the strong indication that Amazon intends making the new Tolkien television series at its own studios.
The extent to which consortium member New Line will go into bat for subcontracting at Miramar may be influenced by issues that arose subsequent to their film version of LOTR.
Whatever the fine print the big benefit for New Zealand will be in the value to the Pacific nation of the refresh button being pushed on the LOTR syndrome.
This includes the intricate tourist destination map built around the original wide screen series, and the reflective value on the nation’s national carrier Air New Zealand which in terms of livery has quite literally draped itself in LOTR symbolism.
The Amazon deal has come as a surprise to LOTR fans, and indeed to many of those inside the industry itself who had assumed that television rights were wrapped up in the original New Zealand production.
| This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. || Thursday 16 November 2017 |||
16 Nov 2017 - Sales of Anchor UHT milk were particularly strong and the brand was the leading imported UHT product across all online sales platforms during the sales window. Double 11 is characterised by deep-discounting and wide-ranging promotions, generating a level of hype similar to a holiday festival in China. According to data from Syntun, China’s 16 largest e-commerce merchants achieved a combined RMB 254 billion (NZD $55.1 billion) in sales this year during the period, up 43 per cent on last year’s total.
President of Fonterra Greater China Christina Zhu said Fonterra’s strong growth on last year reflects the strategic partnerships that the Co-operative has been building with China’s e-commerce giants.
“Forming win-win relationships with the major platforms has been a point of focus for us over the past 12 months,” said Ms Zhu. “We’ve gotten closer to Alibaba and its Tmall platform, demonstrated by how we secured a feature spot on the platform’s homepage in the lead up to November 11. We’ve also developed a good relationship with JD.com, having been identified as one of the platform’s strategic growth partners in the dairy category.”
Fonterra’s Vice President of Brands in Greater China, Chester Cao, said that the Co-operative took a different approach to this year’s sales period, which was the fifth time Fonterra had taken part.
“We were pleased to offer a much broader portfolio of product to consumers this year,” said Mr Cao. “In addition to our strong-selling Anchor UHT and powder products, Anlene and Anmum, we were also able to push our new premium and organic Anchor range and our Anchor Dairy Foods range of cream, cheese and butter.
“For us, it’s much more than just a window to sell more product than usual,” said Mr Cao. “With high levels of online traffic, it’s a real chance for us to reach a greater number of consumers with our brand and educate them about the goodness of our dairy. Given this, we had a strong focus on investing in the right media channels by using a data-driven approach, and creating engaging content for a range of different online and social channels. This approach paid off, as we had more than 30 million consumers visiting our online stores.”
Fonterra has flagship stores for Anchor, Anmum, Anlene products and has partnerships with eight major e-commerce platforms, including front-runners Tmall and JD.com as well as other companies such as Suning and Yihaodian.
China’s e-commerce market is far-and-away the world’s largest and an estimated USD $800 billion is set to be spent this calendar year according to figures from McKinsey & Company. This matches the market size of the next six largest countries combined: the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Korea, and France. Growth is set to continue, with a compound annual growth rate of 18 per cent expected between 2016 and 2018.
“We are excited by the future of e-commerce,” said Mr Cao. “While some categories like electronics or apparel are starting to show signs of maturity, the fresh and packaged food categories have very low online penetration rates by comparison, so there is a lot of room for growth and we’re positioning ourselves well to capture it.”
| A Fonterra release || November 16, 2017 |||
Nov 16 2017 - Co-operative announces ambitious water commitments; invites Kiwis to visit farms and see what’s being done to promote healthy rivers. Fonterra today launched an ambitious plan to help improve the quality of New Zealand’s waterways. Based around six strategic commitments, the plan will underpin Fonterra’s efforts to promote healthy streams and rivers, including a strong focus on sustainable farming and manufacturing.
In parallel, the Co-operative’s farmers will open up their farms around New Zealand to give Kiwis the chance to see first-hand the efforts farmers are making to increase water quality.
The release of the plan signals Fonterra’s desire to play an active role in delivering healthy waterways for New Zealanders and builds on the Co-operative’s previous efforts in this space. Recent examples include Fonterra’s commitment to restore 50 key freshwater catchments, its membership the Farming Leaders’ Pledge and work with the Department of Conservation on the Living Water initiative.
Miles Hurrell, Chief Operating Officer, Fonterra Farm Source, says the Co-operative and its farmers had been working hard to address water quality, but were ready and willing to do even more.
“Like all Kiwis, we want healthy rivers. Our farmers have spent over $1 billion on environmental initiatives over the past five years and fenced more than 98% of significant waterways on farm. That’s a major undertaking but it highlights our commitment to getting this right and we’re already seeing that in some regions these actions are having a positive impact on water quality.
“All intensive land uses have had an impact on water quality in this country. That’s why we have to work together to address the issue. Today, we’re putting up our hands and promising to work with communities to promote healthy waterways for Kiwis to enjoy. Importantly, we’re backing up our words with action and making tangible commitments that we believe will make a real difference,” says Mr Hurrell.
Fonterra’s six water commitments are as follows:
Each of Fonterra’s commitments is underpinned by a set of clear actions. These range from supporting regional councils to set environmental limits for water use, investing $250 million to drive a 20 percent reduction in water use across its 26 manufacturing sites and almost doubling the Co-operatives network of Sustainable Dairy Advisors.
“We’re keen to show New Zealanders the hard work going on behind the farm gate, so on 10 December we’ll be hosting one of New Zealand’s largest ever community open days, giving people across the country the chance to visit a farm and see what we’re doing for themselves. Our farmers are looking forward to opening their gates,” concluded Mr Hurrell.
| A Fonterra release || November 16, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
|
|