New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association

Our Country

New Zealand is an island country with a population of just over four million people. Our country lies in the south-west Pacific and as such is a Pacific rim country. The total size is 17 million hectares, similar to Great Britain, Japan, or the state of Colorado in the USA. Farming in New Zealand occupies around 15 million hectares.

The two main islands span 12° of latitude, and the climate is substantially temperate with some sub-tropical microclimates in the very north of the country.

We have a multi-cultural society which is a proud mix of Western Europeans, Asians and Polynesians. English is the every day language of New Zealand.

Agriculture is an important industry for our country and is largely founded on responsive young soils and relative freedom from pests and diseases, the last upheld by a rigorous biosecurity system. We have a subsidy–free business environment where farming often features as medium sized businesses.

Our climate is very conducive to pasture growth with around 50 million animals grazed outside all year round.

Our Industry

New Zealand seed and grain production occupies about 150,000 hectares. The export of seed products has long been a feature of the New Zealand grain and seed industry.

The seed production areas are based in the temperate plains of the east coast of both islands with the majority of that in the South Island.

The main features of our seed production areas include fertile soils, irrigation, long crop rotations, low humidity, warm days and cool nights. These are all very good ingredients for seed production, of both large seeds and small seeds.

A distinctive feature of our seed production climate is the fohn wind, the classic warm mass of air that flows across our plains from the mountains and which provides great assistance with low seed humidity at harvest time.

New Zealand has long enjoyed a reputation as a supplier of high-quality seeds of grasses and legumes and in the past 20 years vegetable seeds and flower seeds have become a very important part of our seed industry.
World best practices in management and supply of seed is the aim of member companies in the New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association.

Our Organisation

The New Zealand Grain & Seed Trade Association (NZGSTA) exists to foster the business environment for its members. NZGSTA now comprises 80 companies who not only breed seed, but also research, produce, process and market the nation's grain and seed outputs. This involves both importing and exporting. Some NZGSTA members produce seed under contract. Others sell seed or licenses for advanced pastoral seed technologies including forages, animal-friendly fungal endophytes, pasture legumes and more.

Still others make a market in cereals and pulses, to be used as feed supplements for New Zealand's pastoral industries or for the high quality flour and bread-making industries. Other export markets include barley for use in Chinese beer, or pulses for snack foods for Japan.

The New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association is an important group in our small country.

We are proud that we contribute significantly to the countries primary business sector which directly contributes 8% to New Zealand’s GDP. This is more than double that of the OECD norm.

We are proud of our science, of our innovations, of our freedom from subsidy and of our reputation for quality. And we are privileged as a modern nation, founded by Europeans, to be a part of the growing Pacific rim economies.

The members of the NZGSTA now have both the honour and ability to serve markets throughout the world, as well as each customer individually in New Zealand or globally.