Santa's present for the primary sector - an FTA with India
Primary sector leaders have welcomed the announcement of a Free Trade Agreement between India and New Zealand.
A former Fonterra executive is the new chair of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ).
Guy Roper takes over the reins from Matt Bolger, who stepped down at the end of last year following his appointment to Fonterra's senior management team.
Roper is an experienced director, with a strong background in the dairy industry and important role in the supply chain that enables New Zealand's dairy exports.
He's held a variety of roles in the dairy sector, including at Fonterra as Global Account Director for Nestlé and as Commercial Director of Global Trade and Ingredients, as well as a farmer-elected director of the former Kiwi Co-operative Dairies, one of the two co-operatives that merged to form Fonterra.
Brendhan Greaney, Tatua chief executive, speaking on behalf of the DCANZ executive committee, says DCANZ is pleased to welcome Roper to this role.
"His governance capabilities, combined with a wealth of relevant knowledge and experience from previous executive roles, and his general passion for improving New Zealand's prosperity through trade, will be important assets for DCANZ," he says.
Roper says he's excited to have this opportunity to contribute to a sector that he believes in and identifies with.
"The dairy industry plays an important role in New Zealand, and the leadership of dairy companies matters, especially in challenging times," he says.
Global trade has been thrown into another bout of uncertainty following the overnight ruling by US Supreme Court, striking down President Donald Trump's decision to impose additional tariffs on trading partners.
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill have been lifted.
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.
Farmers are being encouraged to take a closer look at the refrigerants running inside their on-farm systems, as international and domestic pressure continues to build on high global warming potential (GWP) 400-series refrigerants.
As expected, Fonterra has lifted its 2025-26 forecast farmgate milk price mid-point to $9.50/kgMS.
Bovonic says a return on investment study has found its automated mastitis detection technology, QuadSense, is delivering financial, labour, and animal-health benefits on New Zealand dairy farms worth an estimated $29,547 per season.
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