It's all about economics
OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a 'please explain' from her former employer Fonterra.
Vegetable supplies look good as New Zealand approaches the winter season but ongoing unsettled weather could still be the wild card.
That’s according to Vegetables New Zealand chair John Murphy.
“The weather’s been warm and wet as we head into winter when growing slows down,” he says in response to the release of the April 2023 food price index.
The index, released today by Stats NZ, reported a 12.5% annual increase in food prices.
The prices of fruit and vegetables rose 22.5%, an increase Stats NZ says is largely driven by tomatoes, avocados and potatoes.
“We have large and small vegetable growers spread across New Zealand,” says Murphy.
He says that this helps the industry ensure a continuity of supply, something he says is important if a severe weather event occurs in one area, setting it back three to four months.
“Last winter, we advised consumers to buy in season and that’s the advice we’re giving again as we move into the colder and darker months.
“We’d also like to encourage consumers to continue to support their country’s vegetable industry,” he says. “Our industry provides jobs for thousands of New Zealanders, in regions up and down the country, while at the same time providing kiwis with fresh, healthy, great tasting food.”
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.