Pork Prices Hold Steady as Food Costs Rise Across New Zealand
New data shows that pork remains one of the more affordable meat options for New Zealand households at a time when grocery costs continue to put pressure on budgets.
Pork farmers says a significant influx of imported pork is causing them concern.
NZPork says much of it is from countries that permit pig farming practices illegal in New Zealand, and in some cases, have herds affected by African Swine Fever (ASF).
According to data from NZPork, between January and September this year, imported pork accounted for nearly 62% of pork consumed in New Zealand.
New Zealand imported a total of 66,686 carcass weight equivalent tonnes (CWE) of pork, up from 65,566 CWE in 2023.
In comparison, local pig farmers produced 41,099 CWE tonnes of New Zealand-born and raised pork, slightly down from 41,789 CWE last year.
"Almost two-thirds of the pork consumed in New Zealand is imported, yet there are no requirements for these imports to meet our stringent pig welfare standards," says Brent Kleiss, chief executive of NZPork.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.

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