NZ exports to EU surge by $3b under free trade deal, says Government
New Zealand exports to the European Union have surged by $3 billion in two years under the New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
Fruit exporters helped boost wholesale trade sales in the June 2016 quarter, Statistics NZ says.
"Kiwifruit export values were at an all-time high in the months of May and June," business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly says. "It was also a good quarter for apple exporters."
When adjusted for seasonal effects, total wholesale trade sales rose 1.7% ($397 million) after small falls in the previous two quarters.
The largest industry increase was in grocery, liquor and tobacco wholesaling, which was up 2% ($152 million). Fruit exporters come under this category. The trend for this industry has been increasing steadily since mid-2013.
The trend for wholesale trade sales has generally been rising since the September 2009 quarter.
The actual value of wholesale trade sales was $23.6 billion in the June 2016 quarter, up $914 million (4%) from the June 2015 quarter.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
"What's for dinner?" may sound like a simple question, but for many Kiwi parents, answering it has become a job in itself.
Fifty Eight years ago, on the 16th of August 1968, August Claas, the founder of the harvesting company and father of Helmut Claas, personally presented a Claas Senator combine harvester to Scottish farmer John Steven.
New Zealand consumers are paying more for beef mince than ever before, with the average retail price now sitting above $24 per kilogram, according to Rabobank.
State farmer Pamu has delivered its strongest operating result on record.
Four years since it was first detected in New Zealand, researchers and growers now know much more about management of maize pest fall armyworm (FAW).

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