US tariffs threaten NZ horticulture exports
"Unwelcome" is how the chief executive of the Horticulture Export Authority (HEA), Simon Hegarty, describes the 15% tariff that the US has imposed on primary exports to that country.
OPINION: Despite the volatility created by the shoot-from-the-hip trade tariff 'stratefy' being deployed by the new state tenants in the White House, farm commodity prices are holding their own.
The crash in U.S. bonds was the only guardrail that seemed to keep Trump's excess in check.
As investors and governments dumped US bonds (Canada and EU countries particularly using them as leverage in the trade war), the greenback devalued, pushing the relative value of the NZD up into the 60s.
Sharemarkets are all over the place and the geopolitical scene isn't great for confidence, to state the obvious.
And yet, as at 2 weeks ago, ASB reported lamb prices up 0.8%, beef up 0.4% and dairy up 2.1%.
And Stats NZ reckons March exports were excellent: dairy up 35%, meat up 34% and fruit up a whopping 74%.
The Government has struck a deal with New Zealand's poultry industry, agreeing how they will jointly prepare for and respond to exotic poultry diseases, including any possible outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI).
The conversion of productive farmland into trees has pretty much annihilated the wool industry.
OPINION: Productive whole farmlands conversions into forestry are becoming a thorny issue for the Government.
Thus far in 2025, the Hawke's Bay rescue helicopter crew have completed over 220 missions, resulting in numerous positive patient outcomes.
The New Zealand Food Network's (NZFN) fifth birthday celebrations have been boosted by a whopping five tonne meat donation from meat processor ANZCO.
Pukekohe vegetable growers farewelled 101-year-old Alan Wilcox in late July, celebrating his many achievements and reflecting the widespread respect in which he was held.