This article presents research estimating the economic contribution made by the uptake of biotechnology in the primary sector of New Zealand. It focuses on the impact of four biotechnologies: clonal propagation/cell manipulation, bio-control agents, enzyme manipulations, and marker-assisted selection. Interviews with 59 key informants and secondary economic data were incorporated into a cost-benefit analysis to produce an estimated overall net impact of NZ$266 million per annum. This impact is spread unevenly through the primary sector and across biotechnologies.