Bank's desire to be part of the solution
ASB says the decision to sign on to the AgriZeroNZ joint venture came out of a wish to be a part of the solution.
There's a chance that the lamb price could hit $9/kg next month.
That’s the view of ASB’s senior rural economist Nathan Penny, who says he’s running out of superlatives to describe the performance of lamb prices.
Data shows the lamb price constantly rising and passing $8/kg, he says, and there is speculation that it could reach the magical $9 number in October.
Penny doesn’t get too carried away about the future for lamb, except to say that whichever way you cut it, prices are strong -- good news after a long lean period compared with other sectors. “The reason for the high prices is strong demand from a number of fronts. We had expected that post-Brexit the UK would weaken substantially, dragging down overall lamb returns, but that hasn’t been the case,” he told Rural News.
“Other markets have stepped up – the US and Europe; those two markets have been strong, so has China.”
Penny says those markets have picked up the UK’s slack, but the UK hasn’t been as bad as he thought it would be. “There’s been pretty good growth globally. Economies have been strong and that has flowed into incomes and demand for lamb. So all up it’s a really good story for lamb and it’s been a while between drinks for lamb producers so the price rise is welcome.”
Penny says there’s a risk that rising lamb prices could make it too expensive for consumers, who would switch to less expensive proteins. But so far the consumers have accepted the lamb prices. After a predicted spike of prices in October, the ASB foresees easing as the season progresses.
Penny thinks the US/China trade wars are playing out a bit more than was first thought, and drought in Australia could see more lamb coming on the international market as farmers seek to cut their losses.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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