PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2020

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 09/20 www.petpla.net 18 Freedom Index, which measures trade and investment freedom, the rule of law and the bureaucracy involved in setting up a company. As in Australia, the services sector in New Zealand forms the backbone of the economy with over 70% of GDP in 2017. In 2019, almost 75% of the workforce worked in this sector. Here too, an ever-growing proportion falls to the tourism sector, which in 2017/18 made up over 10% of the services sector when including its indirect conse- quences. Fundamental to international trade are agriculture and forestry, as well as the manufacturing industry, which is made up of medium-sized companies. Local engineering and plant manufacturing, mostly specialis- ing in niche areas, play an important role here and amount to almost 18%. Overall, more than 70% of all vis- ible exports are agricultural and for- estry products such as food. In 2018, this first sector made up just under 6% of GDP, with the manufacturing indus- try, including food, making up just under 10%. In 2018, the top exports at over 25% were milk and dairy prod- ucts. Expansions and investments in the food industry have been increas- ing sharply for years and have made New Zealand into the largest exporter worldwide of milk and dairy products. Food from the country is regarded internationally as a premium prod- uct and prices are accordingly high. Fruit and vegetable cultivation should increase in coming years with increas- ing productive land and will influence the export business. The coronavirus effect Now, because of Covid-19, every- thing is and will be completely differ- ent. Currently in Australia, a collapse in economic performance is being seen, thought to be of 5%, after dec- ades of economic growth. Losses are particularly tangible in the aforemen- tioned raw materials export business, in the tourism sector and in the field of education, which depends heavily on foreign students. Private invest- ments are set to decline by more than 20%; planned projects not relating to federal transport infrastructure measures will be and have already been postponed. Likewise, a decline in skilled immigration of over 80% compared to 2018/2019 is predicted. Including those not officially registered as looking for work, unemployment is estimated to be just under 10% with this trend increasing over the rest of the year. The state is meanwhile attempting to increase purchasing power with salary and unemployment subsidies. The case numbers in Aus- tralia recently led to the government toughening its measures and impos- ing a lockdown in Melbourne. In New Zealand too, an enormous economic downturn is expected, even though the pandemic is under good control there. For 2020/21, various banks and economists are expecting a downturn of 4.6% to 7% of GDP in real terms and an increase in national debt, which was around 20% in 2019, to 54% of GDP by 2023/24. The coun- try has established comprehensive economic stimulus packages, around US $ 40 billion, to boost the economy. Unemployment could last longer and only fall to between 6% and 7%. Meanwhile, the coronavirus seems to have returned to New Zealand after the country had been virus-free for a longer period. Australia unit volume sales, all pack types (retail/off-trade unit volume in million) New Zealand unit volume sales, all pack types (retail/off-trade unit volume in million) Source: Market Research Company Euromonitor International The drinks world, non-food and PET Australia’s drinks industry has been dominated for over ten years by two production giants, Coca-Cola Amatil and Asahi. In 2020, the two companies together hold over 50% of the market with around 40% going to Coca-Cola and 15% to Asahi. Behind them are Tru Blu Beverages, Bunda- berg Brewed Drinks and Nexba. In the past few years, the coun- try has seen a significant trend away from sugar-sweetened soft drinks. This downturn follows the worldwide demand for low- and no-sugar drink alternatives. When looking at carbon- ated and non-carbonated soft drinks, the trend does not change visibly in terms of the general sales fig- ures, and this can be explained by a trend-based shift of drink types within the sector. Where sugar-sweetened drinks are losing sales, consumers are now reaching more frequently for functional, sports, diet or sugar-free drinks, so that the absolute sales fig- ures for PET, glass and can packag- ing are changing only marginally. A long-term study, which was financed by a grant from the Australian Bev- erages Council Limited (ABCL) appeared in early April in Nutrients, the specialist journal of the Multidis- ciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), shows an increase in sales volume for non-alcoholic drinks from 131 l per head to 149 l per head in the period from 1997 to 2018, when the sales of sugar-sweetened drinks fell from 83 l to 61 l and of non-sugar drinks rose from 48 l to 88 l. A signifi- cant role was played here by sugar- sweetened CSDs, the consumption of which fell by around 41% per head from 76 l to 45 l. Energy drinks, sports drinks and iced tea have increased over the years within sugar-sweet- ened drinks. Australia relies on drinks cans for carbonates and consumer purchases remain consistently steady. Carbon- ates are found more than twice as frequently in cans as in PET bottles. According to Euromonitor, can sales increased in the 2017-2019 period by around 1%, while PET bottle sales fell by almost 2.5%. According to Statista, consumption in this period remained at a constant level of 3.5 billion litres. Juices have also remained stable over