A golden season for kiwifruit exports
According to new figures from Stats NZ, kiwifruit exports were valued at $3.1 billion in the year ended August 2024.
Agriculture has kept losses to a minimum as New Zealand reported its largest ever GDP drop on record.
Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 12.2% in the June 2020 quarter, Stats NZ announced this morning.
The quarterly fall is the largest recorded since the current series began in 1987.
The fall is comparable to many other countries amid the pandemic; the GDP in the same quarter in Australia fell 7%, Canada 11.5%, Japan 7.9%, the United Kingdom 20.4%, and 9.1% in the United States.
Some industries were more affected than others by the border closure and alert levels restrictions in place during the June quarter.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded the smallest drop, falling just 2.2%.
Retail trade and accommodation and transport, postal, and warehousing recorded the largest drops, falling 25.2% and 38.7% respectively.
Financial and insurance services was the only industry that grew, with a 0.7% increase.
“Industries like retail, accommodation and restaurants, and transport saw significant declines in production because they were most directly affected by the international travel ban and strict nationwide lockdown,” said national accounts senior manager Paul Pascoe.
New Zealand started the June 2020 quarter in alert level 4 lockdown, reaching alert level 1 on 8 June 2020.
“While level 4 restrictions were in place for most of April, the gradual return to level 1 over the course of the quarter meant that businesses were able to open up again and many people returned to places of work,” said Pascoe.
Annually, GDP fell by 2.0%. This is the first annual decline since the March 2010 quarter.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will be fronting farmers at three large public meetings organised by Federated Farmers over the coming weeks.
Federated Farmers and a major Australian-owned bank are at loggerheads over emissions reduction targets set for New Zealand farmer clients.
More locally grown tomatoes are coming to stores this month and you can thank New Zealand greenhouses for that.
Changing skill demands and new job opportunities in the primary sector have prompted Massey University to create a new degree course and add a significant major into another in 2025.
It was bringing in a new Canterbury A&P Association (CAPA) show board, more in tune with the CAPA general committee, that has ensured that Christchurch will have a show this year, says CAPA general committee president Bryce Murray.
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