New Zealand's primary producers are reaping the benefits of the high cost of doing business here in Australia.
Coles' Robert Hadler said food processors are heading to New Zealand because labour costs are too high, with Australia paying its food manufacturing workers $10 more an hour than their Kiwi counterparts.
According to ABC, John Brent, chair of Ausveg, agrees costs are too high, referrring specifically to power, water and labour.
"If you want a future manufacturing industry in Queensland or Australia, these things need to be reviewed and understood," he said.
Unsurprisingly, New Zealand growers couldn't be happier. Head of the peak growers group, Vegetables New Zealand, said at the Ausveg conference on the Gold Coast over the weekend that the industry is experiencing a resurgence.
"Beetroot crops have come back, carrots have come back, and it's come back to the region where it was originally; back into Hawkes Bay, back into parts of the South Island," he said.