Ag sector in a strong position to reboot economy

So says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.

He says the latest provisional trade statistics show our apples and kiwifruit continue to be star performers, with $890 million of fruits exported between 1 February and 22 April 2020. He says our dairy and meat sectors are also holding their own into April and they shipped products to overseas customers worth $6.18 billion over the same period.

“Overall primary sector export revenue remains higher into April than for the same period in 2018, despite the forestry sector essentially being shut down over the past month. Now we’ve moved into Alert Level 3, industries affected by the lockdown such as forestry and wool are back into action and that will help. The strength of New Zealand’s primary sector coupled with the success of our health response to Covid-19 gives us a head-start on the world as we get our economy moving again,” he says.

O’Connor says there is no shortage of demand for our high quality product but says we now need a skilled workforce to help us seize the opportunities that are currently before us. He says the primary sector will need about 50,000 more people in a post-Covid-19 world.  

“There are jobs going all over the country ranging from hands on work in orchards, on farms, in forests and fishing boats, to professional roles in engineering, science and management. The Government is working alongside the primary sector to help ensure workers get to the places they are needed. We’re currently investigating further ways we can boost the primary sector workforce through the Government’s $100m redeployment scheme,” he says. 

O’Connor says he’s been impressed by the way the primary sector, government agencies and others have come together to support each other, further reinforcing that our team of 5 million is just as important now as during the lockdown.