WELLINGTON: New Zealanders could see Niuean grown herbs on supermarket shelves as early as next year. New Zealand’s former High Commissioner to Niue, Mark Blumsky, owns and operates a hydroponic growing company in Niue, growing a range of produce from herbs to rock melon. Exporting herbs, like parsley and basil, to New Zealand would be a coup for the island nation as it presently only exports vanilla and taro.
Mr Blumsky, who is also a former MP and Wellington mayor, said that as a small island, Niue is relatively pest-free and its export market unaffected by tighter border security regulations now enforced in New Zealand. He said demand in New Zealand for Niuean herbs already existed. “We’ve been growing herbs since day one and we’ve had feed back from chefs and many people who come from New Zealand who visit the farm, that they like the quality of our herbs, they like the size of the leaf, they like the intensity of taste and smell.”
