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ASB’s senior rural economist Nathan Penny.
Westpac senior analyst Anne Boniface says fears of tighter international supplies, particularly for whole milk powder, helped dairy prices squeeze higher in the first few Global Dairy Trade auctions of 2018.
While Westpac has upgraded its forecast to $6.50/kgMS, slightly ahead of Fonterra’s estimate, it continues to caution against extrapolating recent trends too far into 2018.
“Our view remains that growth amongst NZ’s key trading partners is likely to slow this year, led by China.
“Chinese policymakers are poised to follow through with moves to rebalance their economy, reduce the risks generated by rapid credit expansion and put the economy on a more sustainable growth path.
“And while the consumer sector isn’t the focus for Chinese policymakers, they are unlikely to escape a period of slower growth completely unscathed.”
ASB’s senior rural economist Nathan Penny observed that NZ weather’s wild ride continued with storms and flooding in some regions in January and February.
“On the production side, we expect the improved weather will lead to production growth of 1% compared to last season. That said, there will be wide variations across the country given the varying extent of storms, drought and rainfall.”
Penny says they expect some of this price strength will be temporary. In particular, weather to date in 2018 has improved, with most regions getting substantial rain.
“So production is likely to improve later in the season.”
Global Dairy Trade (GDT) and Arla Foods have announced that Arla will begin offering European-sourced skim milk powder (SMP) on GDT Pulse from May 2025 as part of an extension to the GDT Pulse pilot.
A global trade war beckons, which is bad news for a small open economy like New Zealand, warns Mark Smith ASB senior economist.
Horticultural prices are set to remain elevated this year, reflecting the balance between demand in key export markets and an increase in supply.
ASB's new head of food and fibre, Kristen Ashby, believes that there’s “heaps of opportunity” in the agriculture sector.
Dairy and beef farmers could be eligible for lower interest lending options for financing Halter on their farms, with ANZ, ASB and BNZ now offering a pathway to sustainability loans for New Zealand’s largest virtual fencing provider.
A long-acting, controlled- release capsule designed to protect ewes from internal parasites during the lambing period is back on the market following a comprehensive reassessment.
Healthcare appears to be the big winner in this year's budget as agriculture and environment miss out.
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DairyNZ subsidiary New Zealand Animal Evaluation (NZAEL) will update the genetic base used to calculate Breeding Worth (BW) next month.
Ruralco has donated $10,000 to the Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust following a recent fundraising golf tournament.
Nominations are open for three positions on the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board.
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