Red meat exports slump, thanks to China
Weaker pricing and demand from China continue to impact New Zealand red meat export earnings.
The coronavirus epidemic is going to have a bigger impact than people think it is, according to Massey University Professor of Agribusiness, Hamish Gow.
He says the crisis has only been going for a month and believes that the full impact of the situation has yet to be felt by the country and – in particular – the rural community. Gow believes there is a greater level of financial stress across the industry than what many people perceive. He says it is likely that farmers will put away their cheque books and stop spending to preserve their cash-flow position.
“I think farmers are well aware of what is going on in the international market place and reports recently from the field days in the South Island suggest that farmers were looking rather than buying,” he told Rural News.
Gow says the coronavirus is most likely to affect perishable products going into China. He says this will tend to affect the meat industry more than the dairy sector. He notes there are reports of farmers have to wait up to three to four weeks to get stock killed at meat works in some parts of the country.
Gow says some companies are very exposed to the China market and we will just have to see how this situation plays out.
He says it raises the question of how strongly some NZ companies have been focused on the China market.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.
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