NZ red meat sector hits out at US tariff hike
New Zealand's red meat sector says the United States' decision to increase tariffs on New Zealand exports is disappointing.
NZ is an emerging leader in the provision of ag technology — providing for countries that increasingly need to feed growing populations, Primary Industry Minister Nathan Guy told a conference in Beijing yesterday.
"We recognise that increased trade is not just about more products being exported, it's about an exchange of knowledge, expertise, technology and services, and investment," he told the Development Research Centre Food Security and Food Safety Strategy Summit.
He said New Zealand and China's primary sectors were becoming increasingly interconnected through two-way investment and lengthening supply chains.
"Building our own capacity in isolation is not enough – we need to work with our partners to ensure a stable supply of food for our region," he said.
"Strengthening cooperation is a major focus of New Zealand's and China's 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'. We are focussed on consolidating and expanding cooperation in agriculture, including strengthening cooperation in trade, supporting the capability-building of China's dairy sector, and implementing the new Food Supervisory and Traceability Cooperation Programme.
"This has been evidenced by the significant number of cooperation programmes that we have targeted to China's agricultural goals in areas where New Zealand has world class expertise.
"In particular, we have focused our efforts on technical cooperation in dairy, as China seeks to consolidate the recent gains it has made in the productivity and commercialisation of its dairy sector."
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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DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
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