Todd McClay: Agriculture Minister on confidence is blooming among farmers

The latest Rabobank survey's found farmers' faith in the broader agricultural economy is at its second highest level in the last decade, up to 46 percent.

51 percent expect it to improve in the year ahead - up three percent from the last quarter.

Agriculture Minister Todd McClay told Ryan Bridge it's pleasing to see - as it's good for the country's economy.

He says when the primary sector's doing well and prices are up, they start spending money.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Farmer confidence going through the roof. This is the new
Rabobank survey and it is the second highest level in
a decade. Higher prices, of course, rising demand for commodities.
Dairy farmers have the strongest investment intent, horticulturalists the weakest,
joining us as Todd maclay, the Trade Minister, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Right, good morning, Yeah, good news all round.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Prices are good for now, so things are looking up.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yeah, there's good news. A lot of farmers have been
doing it a bit tough for a number of years,
so it's pleasing to see. But I think more importantly
it's very good for the New Zealand economy. We know
when the primary sector is doing well and prices are up,
they start spending money and so we're starting to see
the green roots of growth coming from rural New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
You've got this trade delegation underway at the moment, signing
five new commercial partnerships between Saudi's and New Zealand companies
worth one hundred million dollars. Can you tell us what
they're about?

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, look, I'm up here with twenty two or twenty
three New Zealand companies. A range of companies who are
involved in sort of food production and export from some
of the honey companies, a couple of Mari honey companies. Actually,
you're up here doing pretty well. And then we've got
others who are making films and some on like that.
So this is just an opportunity for us to get
into Saudi, which is a big, big potential for New Zealand.

(01:16):
You remember we concluded a trade agreement with the GCC
including Saudi last year, and so this was just a
chance for them to sign some deals with either partners
have already had that sort of take their trade further,
or new companies they're working with. I think that one
hundred million dollars of the five deal side of day
is only the start of the opportunity up here. It's

(01:38):
just it's an economy that's growing and we with the
private sector, the government, the privacy can been putting in
a lot of effort and I think it's starting to
pay dividends.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
What do they want with WESA, Well, we.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
So weather have come up and signed a couple of
agreements with one of the Saudi princesses actually, and so
what that will be about is if you think about
down in New Zealand, done exhibitions in New Zealand. There's
a bit of filming and so on. So as Saudi
Arabia is investing heavily in their economy to open up,
they want culture and tourism to be on show. And

(02:11):
some of the suggestion is wetter will pay our ready
big part in one telling the story and too, how
you know how to bring visitors in and show them
more than just sand dune's and dunes and nice pictures.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
I'm going to start. I've got three really quick questions
for you. One on the meat day target review. Have
you got any result to update farmers on this morning?

Speaker 2 (02:29):
So working through that. There's a cabinet process we're working
through now, so I'm going to respect my colleagues, but
we're not too far away. I can give every farmer
and every New zealand and assurance we will be sensible.
We have to meet our obligations and targets or obligations internationally,
but we're not going to close down farms and sends
job and production overseas. Along the way.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
A lot of calls to sanction Israel. By my numbers
our trade, their exports to New Zealand worth only about
zero point three percent to them. Have you done any
work or got any advice on that?

Speaker 2 (03:00):
No, I haven't. Out of the Minister our Foreign Affairs
or we've been talking a lot more about that quite soon.
In the government's position.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
There's monthly meetings with officials from the US on updating. Yes,
it's fifteen percent the tariff right now, but we wanted
some clarity going forward. Do you have any for exporters
this morning?

Speaker 2 (03:17):
So we're still working at that. You know. The interesting
thing is I'm here and elsewhere around the world talking
to others, they too are facing uncertainty. I think that
at the moment the evidence is suggesting that uncertainty is
causing greater harm than the tariff rate. We are working
through one of the things as if we go back
to a trade deficit, the US has a trade surplus

(03:38):
against US, how does that rate come down, and how
do we get at so it won't keep moving. So
look that we're putting every single effort in that we can.
Almost every other country in the world has the same
degree of uncertainty. The very good news, I suppose, though,
as our exports are nimbal and many of them are
choosing to look to other markets. You know at the
time that we are facing higher tariffs in the US

(04:00):
sold extra billion dollars to the EU over the last year,
which is predominantly from the primary sector, and so there
are still lots of opportunities, but the US, for every
trading nation, is a confused market at the moment.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Appreciate your time even though the uncertain tea rains. Minister
Tod McLay with US Live this morning.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
to News Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.