Commerce Commission files proceedings against Westpac
The Commerce Commission has announced that it has filed proceedings against Westpac New Zealand.
Westpac wull support its dairy customers to the tune of about $2/kgMS deficit in their cashflow this year, says Mark Steed, head of agribusiness and property.
"It is a case of coming through [the deficit] in the medium term and coming out the other side," he says.
Steed says the banking sector saw the agri sector as highly volatile. Sheep, beef and horticulture are doing reasonably well but dairy is going through volatility. "The role Westpac has -- and all banks -- is to manage that volatility, assist in the volatility variances in some way.
"Our role is very much to stand by the customers through the highs and the lows.
"We are obviously seeing the lows in the dairy sector. We are ensuring we come through that in a moderate kind of way. It is intriguing that a number of our dairy customers have some variances in their cost base when you think about production. Some have costs around $3.50/kgMS to as high as $5.50/kgMS and when you overlay the leverage on top of that, interest is another $1-$1.20/kgMS.
"So when you've got a payout at $4.60/kgMS that is going to be really challenging. We expect to have to support our customers to the tune of about a $2/kgMS deficit on the cashflow this year."
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.
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