September 14, 2026 • 7 mins
Our Shanghai-based correspondent talks about the end of the summer heat, the state of the Chinese economy, solar power v coal-fired electricity, and compares the Shanghai Subway to Auckland's.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He's our guy based in Shanghai, Hunter McGregor, Roxburgh born
and bred these days, selling red meat and venison to
the Chinese. He's also got an interesting new business, bringing
stuff to New Zealand. We'll talk about that a wee
bit later. Hey Hunter, we haven't chatted for ages because
I've been off the scene for a while. Great to
catch up. Now I take it that summer is done
(00:22):
in China.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Is it? Yeah, good afternoon Jamie. Yeah, no, summer has
just switched off. They have the A very hot July
and August here. And last week, we've just gone below
sort of 30 degrees during the daytime. So, yeah, from July.
If you ever come to China, avoid July and August
because we're sort of 35 to 40 degree high humidity.
(00:47):
So that's why I was down in New Zealand over
that time. And we've just sort of switched into autumn,
and it's a lovely time to be here. It's clear
blue sky. We'll probably get up to about 28, 29 today. So,
you know, things are looking good for the next wee while.
And then we head into winter and then we'll get
cold and rainy. So, yeah, now we have a good
(01:07):
little autumn period and things are looking good at the moment.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yes, I've been lucky enough to have been to China twice.
Once in your autumn, once in your spring, shoulders of
the season. It was absolutely beautiful temperature-wise. How's the Chinese
economy going? And I'll start with fuel prices. they're really
starting to bite around the world. I take it that's
the case in China as well?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, you know, I sort of fill my car at once,
twice a week, and I have noticed that the fuel
prices are slowly creeping up each week. It's going up
a little bit. I don't think it's going up too
much and too high, but it is going to be
a bit of a problem if things continue the way
they're going at the moment. I've got 92, which is
(01:55):
like 91, and that's $ 2. 13 in New Zealand. That was
well below $ 2 a couple of weeks ago. So things
are slowly creeping up like the rest of the world.
China's not immune to what happens in the Middle East
as well.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Is it dragging down the Chinese economy?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Cost of living? Yeah. Yeah, cost of living is slowly
going up. We haven't had a massive inflation over the
last few years, so things are OK. But, you know,
things are slowly creeping up. The economy is sort of
struggling here. They're still trying to stimulate the consumer to
(02:33):
spend a bit more. We'll see how that plays out
in the next wee while because from now until Christmas
is usually a big time for food and beverage companies
up here, especially restaurants. They have a lot of events.
It's good weather leading into Christmas, end of year things
and stuff. So traditionally there's been a big spike in consumption.
So let's see how that plays out this year. I
(02:55):
assume it will, but I'm not too sure how much
of an increase the consumption will be this year. But
let's see.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Is China doing its bit to save the planet? Is
solar power taking over from coal-fired electricity?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yeah, no, solar power here, well, China's definitely doing its
bit with wind and solar and nuclear and everything else.
But just the national, China's National Energy Administration just came
out with some statistics, which are really interesting, is that
the installed capacity of solar power went past coal for
(03:35):
the first time. Now, that doesn't mean that there's a
difference between installed capacity and actually what's produced from the
solar system up here. So what's happened is that coal,
for the first time, has dropped below 50% of total
power production. Solar's still at 13%, is growing to 13%. But, yeah,
(04:00):
things are changing. But, yeah, the installed capacity... just went
above coal. So, you know, it's interesting. There's a lot
happening up in this space. And I would say watch
this space because they're still installing and producing a hell
of a lot more solar panels here. And, you know,
they're exporting them around the world as well. So, yeah, no,
(04:21):
they're definitely doing their bit and it's only going to increase.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
We here in New Zealand, or Auckland as anyhow, are
getting very excited about our equivalent of a subway or
the tube. Uh, it is the CRL, the city rail link.
But once again, we pale in comparison to Shanghai subway.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah. Well, your Shanghai subway is looking to raise the
prices for the first time in about 20 years. Um,
but you know, at the moment there's nearly not just
over 900 kilometers of subway line and track around the
city of Shanghai to put it into comparison. Yeah. Auckland
is now at 182 kilometers. So, uh, It's got a
(05:03):
fair way to go. But Shanghai is the biggest city.
Shanghai does about 10 million trips per day on that system.
And it's still growing. They're still building. You go to
different parts of the city and there's still subway lines
being built and stuff. So they don't sort of stop
with infrastructure up here. And they'll keep going. And it's
(05:24):
been noticeable the improvements of how to get around the
city and things like that are always getting easier. So
hopefully it happens in Auckland as well.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well, there's only three and a half kilometres in Auckland underground.
There'll be a hell of a lot more than that
in Shanghai underground. I'm assuming it's mostly underground until you
get out to the suburbs. Is that right?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, that's correct. Yeah. And then once you get out
of the suburbs, it's elevated on an elevated rail link. So, yeah, no,
it's pretty convenient. You can get around pretty quick. And
the best thing about a subway is you actually know
what time you're going to arrive. You know, there's no
rush hour traffic issues.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Is it stinking hot at the height of summer?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Actually, it's nice and cool, to be honest. It's really
good because the air flows all the way down the
subway carriage because it's all open. There's no doors between
the carriages. So it is nice and cool, a bit
of a break from the heat during summer, which is great.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You listened to Peter Alexander. Thank you for increasing our
podcast listenership numbers there. Hunter, you listened to Peter Alexander
on yesterday's show talking about how costs are rising. uh,
to meet farm incomes and you've got a solution.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Well, yeah, no, doing my bit to try to keep
those costs, uh, going down actually, um, you know, sourcing products, uh,
for farmers out of, out of China directly to the yard. So, uh,
working on a few projects, always looking for a bit
more and hopefully get a few savings for farmers out there.
It will be interesting to see. Hopefully we can stop
(07:01):
that cost rising as well.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Well, I know the example of a digger. You're sending
over from China to a Southland farmer at half price.
So there you go. People can get a hold of
you via me if they want to find out more
about your business, which is called what? Shameless Plug Time?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Rata Trade.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Rata Trade. Well, you enjoy a wonderful, I was going
to say spring. It's actually autumn, isn't it, in the
Northern Hemisphere in Shanghai. Great to catch up again, Hunter McGregor.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Cheers. Thanks, Jamie.
He's our guy based in Shanghai, Hunter McGregor, Roxburgh born
and bred these days, selling red meat and venison to
the Chinese. He's also got an interesting new business, bringing
stuff to New Zealand. We'll talk about that a wee
bit later. Hey Hunter, we haven't chatted for ages because
I've been off the scene for a while. Great to
catch up. Now I take it that summer is done
(00:22):
in China.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Is it? Yeah, good afternoon Jamie. Yeah, no, summer has
just switched off. They have the A very hot July
and August here. And last week, we've just gone below
sort of 30 degrees during the daytime. So, yeah, from July.
If you ever come to China, avoid July and August
because we're sort of 35 to 40 degree high humidity.
(00:47):
So that's why I was down in New Zealand over
that time. And we've just sort of switched into autumn,
and it's a lovely time to be here. It's clear
blue sky. We'll probably get up to about 28, 29 today. So,
you know, things are looking good for the next wee while.
And then we head into winter and then we'll get
cold and rainy. So, yeah, now we have a good
(01:07):
little autumn period and things are looking good at the moment.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yes, I've been lucky enough to have been to China twice.
Once in your autumn, once in your spring, shoulders of
the season. It was absolutely beautiful temperature-wise. How's the Chinese
economy going? And I'll start with fuel prices. they're really
starting to bite around the world. I take it that's
the case in China as well?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, you know, I sort of fill my car at once,
twice a week, and I have noticed that the fuel
prices are slowly creeping up each week. It's going up
a little bit. I don't think it's going up too
much and too high, but it is going to be
a bit of a problem if things continue the way
they're going at the moment. I've got 92, which is
(01:55):
like 91, and that's $ 2. 13 in New Zealand. That was
well below $ 2 a couple of weeks ago. So things
are slowly creeping up like the rest of the world.
China's not immune to what happens in the Middle East
as well.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Is it dragging down the Chinese economy?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Cost of living? Yeah. Yeah, cost of living is slowly
going up. We haven't had a massive inflation over the
last few years, so things are OK. But, you know,
things are slowly creeping up. The economy is sort of
struggling here. They're still trying to stimulate the consumer to
(02:33):
spend a bit more. We'll see how that plays out
in the next wee while because from now until Christmas
is usually a big time for food and beverage companies
up here, especially restaurants. They have a lot of events.
It's good weather leading into Christmas, end of year things
and stuff. So traditionally there's been a big spike in consumption.
So let's see how that plays out this year. I
(02:55):
assume it will, but I'm not too sure how much
of an increase the consumption will be this year. But
let's see.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Is China doing its bit to save the planet? Is
solar power taking over from coal-fired electricity?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yeah, no, solar power here, well, China's definitely doing its
bit with wind and solar and nuclear and everything else.
But just the national, China's National Energy Administration just came
out with some statistics, which are really interesting, is that
the installed capacity of solar power went past coal for
(03:35):
the first time. Now, that doesn't mean that there's a
difference between installed capacity and actually what's produced from the
solar system up here. So what's happened is that coal,
for the first time, has dropped below 50% of total
power production. Solar's still at 13%, is growing to 13%. But, yeah,
(04:00):
things are changing. But, yeah, the installed capacity... just went
above coal. So, you know, it's interesting. There's a lot
happening up in this space. And I would say watch
this space because they're still installing and producing a hell
of a lot more solar panels here. And, you know,
they're exporting them around the world as well. So, yeah, no,
(04:21):
they're definitely doing their bit and it's only going to increase.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
We here in New Zealand, or Auckland as anyhow, are
getting very excited about our equivalent of a subway or
the tube. Uh, it is the CRL, the city rail link.
But once again, we pale in comparison to Shanghai subway.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah. Well, your Shanghai subway is looking to raise the
prices for the first time in about 20 years. Um,
but you know, at the moment there's nearly not just
over 900 kilometers of subway line and track around the
city of Shanghai to put it into comparison. Yeah. Auckland
is now at 182 kilometers. So, uh, It's got a
(05:03):
fair way to go. But Shanghai is the biggest city.
Shanghai does about 10 million trips per day on that system.
And it's still growing. They're still building. You go to
different parts of the city and there's still subway lines
being built and stuff. So they don't sort of stop
with infrastructure up here. And they'll keep going. And it's
(05:24):
been noticeable the improvements of how to get around the
city and things like that are always getting easier. So
hopefully it happens in Auckland as well.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Well, there's only three and a half kilometres in Auckland underground.
There'll be a hell of a lot more than that
in Shanghai underground. I'm assuming it's mostly underground until you
get out to the suburbs. Is that right?
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yeah, that's correct. Yeah. And then once you get out
of the suburbs, it's elevated on an elevated rail link. So, yeah, no,
it's pretty convenient. You can get around pretty quick. And
the best thing about a subway is you actually know
what time you're going to arrive. You know, there's no
rush hour traffic issues.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Is it stinking hot at the height of summer?
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Actually, it's nice and cool, to be honest. It's really
good because the air flows all the way down the
subway carriage because it's all open. There's no doors between
the carriages. So it is nice and cool, a bit
of a break from the heat during summer, which is great.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You listened to Peter Alexander. Thank you for increasing our
podcast listenership numbers there. Hunter, you listened to Peter Alexander
on yesterday's show talking about how costs are rising. uh,
to meet farm incomes and you've got a solution.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Well, yeah, no, doing my bit to try to keep
those costs, uh, going down actually, um, you know, sourcing products, uh,
for farmers out of, out of China directly to the yard. So, uh,
working on a few projects, always looking for a bit
more and hopefully get a few savings for farmers out there.
It will be interesting to see. Hopefully we can stop
(07:01):
that cost rising as well.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Well, I know the example of a digger. You're sending
over from China to a Southland farmer at half price.
So there you go. People can get a hold of
you via me if they want to find out more
about your business, which is called what? Shameless Plug Time?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Rata Trade.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Rata Trade. Well, you enjoy a wonderful, I was going
to say spring. It's actually autumn, isn't it, in the
Northern Hemisphere in Shanghai. Great to catch up again, Hunter McGregor.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Cheers. Thanks, Jamie.
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