increase font size
Rabobank New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris.
COVID-19 is negatively impacting New Zealand’s rural sector confidence.
The declining confidence comes as the country’s primary industries prepare to shoulder some of the heavy lifting for economic and social recovery, claims specialist rural bank Rabobank.
New Zealand chief executive Todd Charteris says the bank’s latest rural confidence survey shines a light on the psyche of farmers at a critical time for the nation.
“The food and agri sectors will be crucial in helping to rebuild the New Zealand economy and Rabobank continues to have a strong positive long-term view of the sector outlook,” he says.
“Having said that, our latest survey shows farmer sentiment has slipped since late 2019.”
After climbing strongly in the December 2019 quarter, net farmer confidence in the broader agricultural economy fell to -44% in the March quarter – down from -12 per cent previously.
The survey found a decrease in the number of farmers expecting agricultural economic conditions to improve in the coming 12 months (down to 12% from 21% last quarter). There were also more farmers expecting conditions to worsen (56% from 33% previously).
The number of farmers expecting the performance of the agricultural economy to stay the same fell to 29% from 44% last quarter. Among farmers with a negative outlook, the majority cited COVID-19 as a key factor for holding this view.
Charteris says during the period the survey was open – between March 3 and 18 – farmer concerns are likely to have been centred largely on the impact COVID-19 was having on Chinese demand for New Zealand agricultural products and the potential for the virus to result in similar demand falls in other global markets.
“Understandably this had a marked impact on farmer confidence – particularly in sheep and beef due to uncertainty over market access.”
A new Indonesian school milk programme is expected to significantly increase the country's total dairy consumption, creating opportunities for New Zealand and other global dairy players.
Twenty rural community hubs across New Zealand will receive $5,000 to upgrade their facilities having been selected as the winners of Rabobank's Community Hub Competition.
New Zealand is so far escaping the unpredictable vagaries of President Donald Trump's trade policies by the skin of its teeth.
The cost of producing milk in New Zealand continues to compare favourably with other exporting regions despite a lift in production costs over the past five years.
Dairy
Tractor manufacturer and distributor Case IH has announced a new partnership with Meet the Need, the grassroots, farmer-led charity working to tackle food insecurity across New Zealand one meal at a time.
The DairyNZ Farmers Forum is back with three events - in Waikato, Canterbury and Southland.
To celebrate 25 years of the Hugh Williams Memorial Scholarship, Ravensdown caught up with past recipients to see where their careers have taken them, and what the future holds for the industry.
Among this year’s Primary Industry NZ (PINZ) Awards finalists are a Southlander who created edible bale netting and rural New Zealanders who advocate for pragmatic regulation and support stressed out farmers.
Rockit Global has appointed Ivan Angland as its new chief operating officer as it continues its growth strategy into 2025.
Nominations are now open for the Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) board.
OPINION: The good fight against "banking wokery" continues with a draft bill to scrap the red tape forcing banks and…
OPINION: Despite the volatility created by the shoot-from-the-hip trade tariff 'stratefy' being deployed by the new state tenants in the…
