Bulk wine exports surpass packaged wine volumes
Data from February 2025 shows volumes of bulk wine exports exceeded packaged wine.
The rise and rise of horticulture is prompting MPI to reconfigure its operations.
Chief executive Ray Smith says with the sector planning to go from a $6 billion industry to a $10b industry there are things MPI needs to do.
The first is on biosecurity.
“For the nearly one million containers that come into New Zealand and the parcels coming into the mail centre and the tourists -- we have to do everything we can to stop pests and diseases getting in.
“And if they do get in [we must] act quickly and with the industry.”
Smith told Rural News he’s impressed with how MPI has worked with the industry to contain the recent fruit fly problem. That’s an example of working together and there is a need to strengthen those bonds.
“But there are other issues for an industry that is growing such as labour supply and skills. I think of young NZers who haven’t grown up, as many of us have, with a real connection to the agricultural or horticultural sector so we have to teach them about that.
“We are looking about how we get into secondary schools to get people excited about our primary industries and the job opportunities there.”
And it’s not just training and labour supply, it’s also robotics, says Smith. He’s talked to people part way through designing robotic machines which could help alleviate some of the labour supply problems.
“They want us to back them to develop their products and I would like to do that,” he said.
Smith notes MPI’s massive regulatory role, the ‘bottom line’ keeping our system intact.
But he says the top line is to “see the industries grow” and for MPI to partner with them to find ways to support them.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…
OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.