Strong wool eyes China
China looks set to play a key role in helping the New Zealand wool sector shift away from trading as a commodity supplier.
The coronavirus epidemic is going to have a bigger impact than people think it is, according to Massey University Professor of Agribusiness, Hamish Gow.
He says the crisis has only been going for a month and believes that the full impact of the situation has yet to be felt by the country and – in particular – the rural community. Gow believes there is a greater level of financial stress across the industry than what many people perceive. He says it is likely that farmers will put away their cheque books and stop spending to preserve their cash-flow position.
“I think farmers are well aware of what is going on in the international market place and reports recently from the field days in the South Island suggest that farmers were looking rather than buying,” he told Rural News.
Gow says the coronavirus is most likely to affect perishable products going into China. He says this will tend to affect the meat industry more than the dairy sector. He notes there are reports of farmers have to wait up to three to four weeks to get stock killed at meat works in some parts of the country.
Gow says some companies are very exposed to the China market and we will just have to see how this situation plays out.
He says it raises the question of how strongly some NZ companies have been focused on the China market.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
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