Transcript
GEOFF WHITE: When Trade Aid started out we were very heavily involved in the Pacific but over time that's fallen away a wee bit so we're really thrilled to be able to finally get some food products back in there from the Pacific.
DANIELA MAOATE-COX: What was it that caused the food products to drop away like that?
GW: I'm not sure, it's pre my time. I'm just not sure what happened during that era. We got involved heavily in the rest of the world and the Pacific somehow fell off a wee bit but I also believe Pacific products had a lot more access into the New Zealand market back then then they do have now.
DM-C: But Niue vanilla is going to be sold in the stores and it's taken about three years of talking to make this happen, what was it that made it take so long or is that quite standard for this kind of arrangement?
GW: it's usually standard for us, we need to be very sure, we have a very strict criteria about who we trade with and the model that we normally use around the world in food products, which is a cooperative model, doesn't quite work well in the Pacific, there's not those cooperative models that exist over there so you generally have to work with an entrepreneurial farmer and that's what we've had to do in this case.
DM-C: Can you explain a little bit more about the cooperative model and how that's different to what happens in the Pacific?
GW: It's a proven method, I mean New Zealand farmers use it obviously, so it's a very effective method to make sure that the farmers capture the value in the supply chain in the process of their product, so it's one we've always worked with but what it requires is land ownership, you know and sometimes in the Pacific that small farmer land ownership isn't there, it doesn't exist, so it's very hard for those cooperatives to form.
DM-C: Is there a particular reason why it's vanilla from Niue, because other countries in the Pacific also produce vanilla like Tonga for example?
GW: What we saw from Niue vanilla was the quality aspect and the fact that they were, I think they had the drive and they were a little further along the chain in the development of their product which meant they could straight into our stores and it's very important for us, for a product like this, because what we are going to be is a stepping stone for Niue to go into the New Zealand market more fully, so we're going to be a testing ground for them and a learning platform for them so they can then go and take their product into the commercial market so we needed to choose a company that was ready to do that and prepared to do that and that's what we found with them.
DM-C: So for this company, Niue Vanilla International, which is a family owned company, aside from having your support to enter the New Zealand market, what other impact will this arrangement have?
GW: Well I think back in Niue, it will have a big arrangement, they're a country that could be fully organic but what I've heard is that, that there have been efforts before and promises made to the farmers that there's a market for their product if they only went organic and it's never borne fruit, it's never come out and worked so if we can get Niue Vanilla working correctly as a company and they can show that they can deliver export products and they can bring more farmers into the growing of the vanilla product I think it will bring big changes back to Niue.
Geoff White says the vanilla will be supplied directly to the stores and there are plans to set up more arrangements for other products from Pacific countries.
