Damien O’Connor: NZ united on global trade
When it comes to international trade, politicians from all sides of the aisle are united, says Labour's trade spokesman Damien O'Connor.
The Chinese carpet market is worth US$4.8 billion.
And carpets and rugs made from NZ wool are well regarded in the market.
Wools of NZ chief executive John McWhirter says it is rightly valued for its ability to create cleaner and brighter products and for its superior yield through manufacturing.
“As a brand, Wools of New Zealand is held in high regard for its purity and global presence, and being farmer owned, gives our brand unrivalled integrity.”
He expects benefits from sales in the Chinese market to flow back to farmers over time.
“Having a flagship partner that has invested in the Wools of New Zealand brand calls into question other carpet manufacturers that falsely claim to use New Zealand wool which is one of the limiting factors on demand.
“We work hard to protect the reputation of New Zealand wool by ensuring branded products are true to provenance.”
McWhirter points out that Yangxin Ruixin is not a new user of New Zealand wool. “The Wools of New Zealand brand partnership ensures a minimum percentage of our fibre is used within the products (20% more than previously) and, more importantly, means we can work together to grow both businesses, taking market share from both plastic and non-New Zealand wool.
“The partnership is about adding value as well as increased volume. The extra wool required to meet our brand standard is immediately replacing plastic fibre.”
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
Fonterra chair Peter McBride says the divestment of Mainland Group is their last significant asset sale and signals the end of structural changes.
Thirty years ago, as a young sharemilker, former Waikato farmer Snow Chubb realised he was bucking a trend when he started planting trees to provide shade for his cows, but he knew the animals would appreciate what he was doing.
Virtual fencing and herding systems supplier, Halter is welcoming a decision by the Victorian Government to allow farmers in the state to use the technology.
DairyNZ’s latest Econ Tracker update shows most farms will still finish the season in a positive position, although the gap has narrowed compared with early season expectations.
New Zealand’s national lamb crop for the 2025–26 season is estimated at 19.66 million head, a lift of one percent (or 188,000 more lambs) on last season, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s (B+LNZ) latest Lamb Crop report.