Roadmap set to double hort exports by 2035
It's critical that the horticulture sector works together as part of a goal to double the sector’s exports by 2035.
Horticulture Minister Nicola Grigg says she takes her hat off to all NZ growers for the hard yards they have put in over the last few years which have resulted in horticulture exports expected to reach the milestone of $8 billion this year.
She says this has happened even though the sector has had to deal with some terrible weather events including Cyclone Gabrielle.
"This 12% growth is absolutely amazing," she says.
The MPI Situation Outlook Report for Primary Industries (SOPI) released just before Christmas showed that kiwifruit exports this year will be worth more than $3.4 billion - up from $2.8 billion a year ago.
At the same time, applea and pear exports will make just over $1 billion. These figures are somewhat astonishing given that so much fruit has been under pressure from the after effects of Gabrielle and other adverse weather events, and in normal circumstances, these figures would likely have been higher.
Grigg points out that to ensure that this growth continues, it is important that parliament gets the regulatory settings right, removes red tape, gets consistent rules right across the country and listens to the grass roots industry.
"My job is to get out to the regions and meet with the various horticulture sector groups and take their feedback to parliament so that my colleagues and other ministers are aware of the needs of the sector I am charged with championing," she says.
Grigg says while each of the sector groups have their own individual issues, in essence they are quite similar to each other.
Labour is a common concern and that is why the Government had made change to the RSE scheme.
Access to water storage are high on the priority list, she says, which is why a review of the National Policy Statement on freshwater is being undertaken.
The other issue she flags is one of access to capital for the sector and points to the inquiry into the banking sector as one means of addressing this.
"My job is to keep advocating for the growth of the sector and, so long as we here in the parliament get it right and the sector has the ambition and fortitude, then the sky is the limit," she says.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
From 1 October, new livestock movement restrictions will be introduced in parts of Central Otago dealing with infected possums spreading bovine TB to livestock.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.