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MPI director-general Ray Smith say recovery for the red meat sector will take approximately two years.
MPI director-general Ray Smith acknowledges the tough times that sheep and beef farmers are going through in terms of loss of profitability and says he's been to many of the regions hammered by weather events. He describes the situation as heartbreaking.
"But I want them to hang on to is the fact that all the indicators are that we will return to a positive position," he says.
Smith says recovery for the red meat sector will take about two years, but the worst is over and prices are starting to come back. But he believes when they do come back, they will not be at the same high level as they were.
He says there are many positive things going on for the red meat sector. He notes NZ protein is still sought after by the growing middle classes in our markets and believes that because of our farming systems, climate change will have less impact on our farmers than our competitors.
"Our production system is highly efficient it doesn't rely on a whole lot of imported feed or other grown feed, and I think that will give us an advantage over the countries that we compete with," he says.
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