Work is underway to see if peanuts grown here are as good as the ones imported to make peanut butter.
Photo: Google Maps
Nelson-based company Pic's makes its peanut butter from nuts imported from Australia, Brazil, and Nicaragua.
But it wants to use nuts grown here and has some trial lots of peanuts growing in Northland.
The High Value Nutrition National Science Challenge has now invested more than $45,000 to determine the nutrient composition and health claims of those peanuts.
It will analyse the nutritional composition of four samples of New Zealand grown peanuts, and four peanuts grown overseas.
Peanuts being picked in Northland. Photo: RNZ / Nita Blake-Persen
Pic's Peanut Butter chief executive Stuart Macintosh said the hi-oleic peanuts Pic's imported contained 30 percent more monounsaturated fats than regular peanuts, which is similar to avocados and olive oil.
"We are hopeful that the new hi-oleic cultivars sourced for the Northland trials this summer will be comparable with the possibility of some unique characteristics."
Trials last year went well, Macintosh said, so they have expanded to 2 hectares for the next two years.
"Pic's uses about 3000 tonnes of peanuts a year so if we can grow some of them here in Northland that have the same qualities as the ones we import it would be amazing as it would provide a local source and provide jobs for the community."