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New Zealand Pledges $42 Million to Kickstart Bioeconomy and Export Growth

NZ Bioeconomy push visual media

New Zealand has dropped $42 million into a brand-new Biodiscovery Platform, with the goal of turning native biodiversity into export-ready pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and functional foods. Announced by Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti, the seven-year investment will fund the newly formed Bioeconomy Science Institute, which aims to translate cutting-edge R&D into products that actually make it to market.


Dr Reti calls it an “economic growth initiative”, one designed to pull New Zealand’s natural resources out of the lab and onto global shelves. It’s the same logic that saw honey exports soar from $187 million to $420 million over the last decade and now the Government wants to do it again, only bigger. The move folds into a much wider R&D push: $70 million for AI, $71 million for future materials, and $183 million for Endeavour research programmes.


In short, Wellington’s betting biodiversity equals bio-dollars. Whether the plan blossoms like mānuka or withers under bureaucracy will depend on how fast science, industry, and Māori enterprises can actually turn this platform into a pipeline of premium bio-based products.



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