An economic assessment of the middle class and upper class market in Malaya as a potential outlet for New Zealand meat and dairy products

Abstract

It is only recently that the need for New Zealand to find and develop new food markets has become apparent. Up till then, her established markets, mainly the United Kingdom, have been able to absorb all the food products she produced and to pay the rice she expected for them. In recent years, a number of adverse developments, mainly in the field of international trade, have made it necessary for New Zealand to re-examine her traditional trade pattern and to consider seriously, in particular the prospects and problems of developing markets in Asia and other under-developed regions of the world. One of the countries that New Zealand is showing increasing interest in recent years is Malaya. Her thriving economy, friendly government and the gradually changing tastes of her consumers are attractive attributes to a food exporter like New Zealand. The main purpose of the present study is to shed some light on the nature of a particular section o the Malayan market, namely the "middle" and "upper middle" class market for meat and dairy products.