increase font size
MPI director general Ray Smith.
Ministry for Primary Industries director general Ray Smith remains optimistic about the long-term future of the dairy industry.
Smith told Dairy News that the sector is on the road to recovery, but warns that it could be another 18 months before it gets back to a position which looks like normal.
The big imponderable in the recovery is what happens in China. There are reports its milk production is increasing, albeit at a lower rate now than a year ago, and that there has been a decline in NZ exports there, which is expected to continue in the coming year.
He also points out there will continue to be more competition in the markets.
"But remember, its middle class is still rising and so I think what we will see in countries like China where this is happening, is an increasing demand for protein. So, NZ has got a place in there and our dairy industry has got a range of products that it supplies into the market.
"And don't forget, the NZ dairy sector has access to around 160 markets and it's quite good at moving the product around to get the best value they can," he says.
At present, NZ is enjoying a mild winter which has helped regions like the Manawatū get back on their feet after an awful late summer and autumn. Again, an imponderable for the dairy industry is a prediction from NIWA that we may get another El Nino system later this year.
But Smith says the positive side is that this spell of good weather was never predicted, so one can only hope.
Winter grazing is looming again and the Ministry for Primary Industries says it's going to increase proactive farm visits and provide practical advice for farmers in the lead up to the season.
The primary sector is welcoming the appointment of Dr John Roche as the Prime Minister's new chief science advisor.
A highly experienced agricultural scientist with specialist knowledge of the dairy sector is the Prime Minister's new Chief Science Advisor.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
Movement controls have been lifted from Mainland Poultry’s Hillgrove Farm in Otago, after the successful eradication of H7N6 strain of high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Fieldays 2025 opens this week with organisers saying the theme, 'Your Place', highlights the impact the event has on agriculture both in the Southern Hemisphere and across the globe.
Sam Carter, assistant manager for T&G's Pakowhai Sector, has been named the Hawke's Bay 2025 Young Grower of the Year.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
