Waitoa launches QR-enabled campaign to trace free range chicken
Poultry producer Waitoa is launching a new campaign, complete with on-pack QR codes, giving Kiwis the ability to trace their free range chicken back to the farms where it was raised.
Food prices fell 0.9% in September 2016, influenced by seasonally lower prices for vegetables and cheaper chicken prices, Statistics New Zealand says.
Chicken prices fell 0.9% for the month, and 11% over the year to September 2016. Prices have fallen on an annual basis for the last 16 months to reach their lowest level since October 2007.
"Chicken prices peaked in December 2014, when the average price of a kilo of chicken breasts was $16.60," consumer prices manager Matt Haigh says.
"In September 2016 the average price had fallen to $13.52.
“The generally falling prices for chicken in recent months are the result of expanded investment in farming operations by the New Zealand poultry industry," Poultry Industry Association executive director Michael Brooks says. "With supply decisions being made one to two years ahead, temporary periods of under- or over-supply can occur and affect prices accordingly.”
Chicken consumed in New Zealand is locally produced, so prices can fluctuate in the local market.
Fruit and vegetable prices fell 5.1% in September 2016, reflecting seasonally lower prices for tomatoes, capsicum, lettuce, and cucumber. After seasonal adjustment, fruit and vegetable prices rose 0.4%.
Overall food prices increased 0.1% in the year to September 2016.
In advance of the Budget, Finance Minister Nicola Willis put a clear damper on expectations and delivered accordingly.
Farmers should be cautiously optimistic as the 2026/27 season kicks off, says DairyNZ.
RaboResearch senior analyst Emma Higgins expects the 2026/27 dairy season to be another profitable one.
The new dairy season is kicking off with plenty of risks to the forecast farmgate price, both upside and downside, says ANZ agricultural economist Matt Dilly.
A potential showdown between the top two Federated Farmers leaders looms at the farmer lobby's annual meeting later this month.
FarmIQ Systems has developed a free land management app to help remove barriers to New Zealand farmers and growers adopting digital tools.

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