Jamie Mackay: The Country host on food and fibre exports being set to reach $62b next year

Food and fibre exports are set to reach a record $62 billion next year, up from the $60.4b record set this year.

According to new reports, meat and wool revenue is set to rise 7 percent, horticulture 5 percent, forestry 2 percent, and dairy 1 percent.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jamie McKay is with us this evening host of the country, Jamie,
good evening.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Good evening, Ryan. And just before we get into the
thick of it, just a we footnote for you, not
on Ford in their impairment, but on the well this
is sort of a bit of an impairment. Really. It's
the final Global Dairy Trade Auction. Tonight features market picking
another drop of a couple of percent or so. My
man at Jordan, Mike McIntyre tells me. Now, if that

(00:24):
comes to pass, that's nine straight falls, ten being the
record since we've started the GDT auction. So I hate
to be the bear of bad news, Ryan, but it's
got that feel about it. Nine dollars here we come.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, they's certainly heading in that direction, isn't it. Now,
Food and five exports, this is some bright spark. I
suppose food and fiber exports will reach a record sixty
two billion dollars next year.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, and that's on top of this year's. I mean,
the sixty two billion is for the year end of
June thirty, twenty twenty six, So I guess it's in
the farming season that we're in. It beats last year's
record setting sixty point four billion. And the good news
is Ryan, for the year ended thirtieth of June twenty
twenty seven, we're up to sixty three billion. And if

(01:13):
you want to figure out how important the primary sector
is to our economy, one in every seven people work
in food and fiber and the sector now accounts for
eighty three percent of all New Zealand goods exports, So
it's huge for our economy. We break it down into sectors,
meat and wall Let's face it, it's mainly meat has

(01:34):
been the star of the stable, lifting seven percent to
over thirteen billion. Horticulture off the back of Kiwi fruit
doing really well, lifting five percent to nine point two billion.
Now it's not that long ago, Ryan that horticulture and
forestry were neck and neck. Forestry did lift two percent,
but it's when I say, languishing at six point three billion.

(01:56):
That's still a lot of money. But horticulture has really
taken off off the back of the Kiwi fruit and apples,
I think, reaching one billion for the first time. And
of course when it comes to value and volume, it's
all about the dairy export industry only lifted one percent. Obviously,
we've got falling prices to factor in, but it is
worth to our economy of whopping twenty seven point four

(02:21):
billion dollars. So there you go. That was in the
Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report release.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
This morning, Jamie. What's happening with the animal protein industry?
Generally a slowdown being predicted in production growth for twenty.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Six Yeah, yeah, this is the latest Rabobank report and
they always put out wonderful reports. Love reading them, Ryan
shameless Plug for Rabobank the Global Animal Protein Outlook for
twenty twenty six. Interestingly, seafood and poultry will emerge as
the primary drivers of production growth, while pork and beef

(02:57):
are expected to contract, marking the first time in global
land based species a reduction and output for at least
six years. So here in New Zealand, what's the story.
The beefhead countess forecast to rise by about three percent
and twenty twenty six. Look, beef farming is where it's
at at the moment. On the sheep side, even though

(03:20):
you numbers have declined by one point nine percent, the
lambs available for slaughter out of them, as I think
we touched on last week, are still roughly about the same,
So our national u flock is now down to just
over fourteen million sheep. Ryan, you're far too young to
remember in the nineteen eighties when we had over seventy

(03:42):
million sheep. Obviously they weren't all used, but the numbers
that decline has been rapid. Global demand for New Zealand
red meat, and this is the good news, has anticipated
to remain robust in twenty twenty six. And even though
our volumes have softened into the likes of China, were
really really being offset by us getting more lamb exports

(04:04):
into the likes of the EU and the US and
to a lesser extent, the UK, And we are really
being helped in those two European markets by our FTAs.
We just need to convince Donald Trump to drop the
tariffs and give us a free trade agreement and it's
happy days for New Zealand farming.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Same goes for India. Appreciate that, Jamie. Thank you, Jamie McKay,
host of the Country on News Talks EB. For more
from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to News talks
'B from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.