In his address as Chairperson to the Federated Farmers Dairy Council in Wellington on Tuesday, Wayne Langford canvassed where he thinks the sector is heading and what challenges are coming over the horizon… We are entering a new era for New Zealand dairy, in a decade where the world will never see change as fast […]
Trade
Economic Week – February 19
by Nick Clark, Federated Farmers Manager General Policy Seven in a row Continued strong demand from China saw dairy prices increase again in this week’s Global Dairy Trade auction. The GDT Price Index was up 3.0% compared to the previous auction a fortnight ago. All six commodities on offer increased in price, led by whole […]
Red meat exports reach historic highs
Despite the challenges and restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the New Zealand red meat sector exported $9.2 billion worth of products during 2020, an increase of one per cent on the previous year. Overall exports during the year reached historically high levels – and were seven per cent above 2018 exports ($8.6 billion) and 21 […]
Positive start to export onion season
The 2021 New Zealand export onion season is off to an early and positive start. ‘Amongst all the turmoil created by Covid and the weather, it’s great to be able to report that exports of New Zealand onions to Indonesia are underway, two months earlier than last year,’ says Onions New Zealand Chief Executive, James […]
Dairy notches record milksolid production in tough year
It’s been another record year for New Zealand’s dairy sector, with total milksolids production at a record high. The DairyNZ and Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) statistics show that in the 2019-20 season, New Zealand dairy companies processed 21.1 billion litres of milk containing 1.90 billion kilograms of milksolids (kg MS). This is a 0.6 percent […]
Primary industry exports close to breaking $50b mark
Economic prospects for the primary sector are bright despite the significant challenges from COVID-19, according to the latest Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report. The report, released on Tuesday afternoon, forecasts food and fibre export revenue of more than $47.5 billion for the year ending June 2021, and a record $49.2 billion the […]
Meat, dairy essential to global nutrition
Meat and dairy will continue to play a major role in the world’s food production systems if we’re to deliver adequate nutrition to a growing world population. That was the core message Dr Nick Smith of the Massey University-based Riddet Institute’s Sustainable Nutrition Initiative (SNI) delivered to the 400 farmers, horticulturalists, government and sector representatives […]
Red Meat Sector Launches New Strategy
The red meat sector launched a new strategy, a collaboration between Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association, at a function in Wellington this week. The strategy sets four key goals for the sector to achieve by 2030: Sustainably profitable: lift innovation, performance and productivity. Premium value: build a platform to create […]
Rocky road ahead on international trading front
Taxes is a ‘t’ word resented by some firms but the way Vangelis Vitalis tells it, the ‘t’ word that farming businesses and other export-oriented producers should worry about is tariffs. “You’re the sector that faces the highest tariff barriers,” New Zealand’s chief trade negotiator told an opening day session at the 2020 Primary Industries […]