It's all about economics
OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a 'please explain' from her former employer Fonterra.
Gold kiwifruit continues to dominate fruit exports in an otherwise challenging market, according to recent Stats NZ figures.
In the year ended November 2021, gold kiwifruit made up 47% ($1.9 billion) of total fruit export value, while green kiwifruit made up 23% ($923 million).
Stats NZ says both increases were quantity driven, with prices falling compared with a year ago. Gold kiwifruit has a traditionally higher unit price than the green variety.
Since the kiwifruit season in 2016, which is typically from March to November, gold has overtaken green in terms of value. In the 2020 season, gold kiwifruit also overtook green in terms of volume.
"While green kiwifruit continues to be in high demand, growers in New Zealand are increasingly planting gold, and now red kiwifruit, to capture greater export value in markets like China and Japan," international trade manager Alasdair Allen says.
Total fruit exports remained relatively flat, up 1.3% in the year ended November 2021 - compared with November 2020. Kiwifruit made up 71%($2.8 billion) of the total value of fruit exports, whil apples made up 21% ($843 million).
Apple exports fell 7.2% in value, with quantities down 11% this season, which traditionally ends in November.
"It's been a challenging season for apple growers, with some adverse weather events and continued labour shortages earlier in the year contributing to lower than usual output," Allen said.
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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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