AnnuAl REPORT 10/11 - Grow Wellington

10
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New Zealand exporters are receiving high prices
for logs, wool, lamb, timber, beef and dairy products,
as the growth in Asia drives demand for commodities.
Businesses in the Wellington Region in these sectors
have been part of this growth (in both demand
and prices).
The provision of reliable water in the Wairarapa
Valley will assist producers to fully capture a share
of the growing global demand for high quality
food and other primary products. The focus for
Grow Wellington has been in working with various
stakeholders, including the Greater Wellington
Regional Council and the Wairarapa Regional
Irrigation Trust, to secure significant project
resources to advance the Wairarapa Water Use
Project towards implementation.
This water-storage based project is described as “one
of the largest economic development projects in
the Greater Wellington Region.” At the end of 2010,
it was confirmed that the allocation of $750,000 in
the Greater Wellington Regional Council Annual Plan
for 2011/12 was approved. Engagement has also
begun with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
(MAF) around securing support via the Irrigation
Acceleration Fund which was announced in the May
2011 Budget.
The manufacturing sector has experienced a difficult
year in 2010/11 but as the world slowly climbs out of
economic difficulties and demand builds, the outlook
is positive for a sector which remains important and
relevant for the Wellington Region.
Grow Wellington’s flagship programme for
the manufacturing sector is the Optimising
Manufacturing Programme. The Programme places
graduates into businesses to address process
efficiency issues and drive innovation to improve
their global competitiveness. The Programme has
grown to involve 10 companies across the region
from food to mechanical engineering to plastics to
paint manufacturing.