Farmers warm to new Government

27 March 2018

Farmer confidence is starting to improve after falling following the general election last year, according to Rabobank’s first quarterly rural confidence survey for 2018.

Councils want more Government money, direction

20 March 2018

Regional councils want the Government to act on nationwide standards to improve water quality, Local Government New Zealand says, as it seeks increased funding from central government and alternative revenue sources.

Primary sector shift must be Govt-led: McAnulty

13 March 2018

The Labour-led Government will be hands-on in establishing an environment for the primary sector to capture more value from its production.

Brits want trade, survival tips

12 March 2018

A high-level group of British farming delegates is seeking to gain fresh insights from New Zealand’s expertise in developing export markets with a view to applying the lessons learned when Britain embarks on its own post-Brexit trading.

MPI still working on NZ story

2 March 2018

The Ministry for Primary Industries is still working on a New Zealand version of Ireland’s Origin Green provenance story but is not committing to a timeframe because the project needs more funding and has to determine a level farming standards need to meet to match the story it wants to tell.

Sweet result for bee industry

30 January 2018

The Ministry for Primary Industries has adjusted its mānuka honey science definition for multifloral honey, pleasing the bee industry body but, according to the National opposition, damaging the credibility of its standards.

Wood firms want trade action

26 January 2018

Wood companies are lobbying the Government for a more favourable trading environment as processors such as Juken New Zealand eye drastic measures in the face of subsidised foreign competition.

NZ-Japan double act seals CPTPP deal

24 January 2018

Japan and New Zealand played what amounted to a hard cop-soft cop routine with Canada during this week’s talks in Tokyo that saw a breakthrough agreement that has put the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement on the home straight.

CPTPP: The deal is on

24 January 2018

Business leaders say the new Comprehenisive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership is immensely worthwhile.

The agreement has been finalised at a meeting of trade ministers in Japan and could be signed in Chile on March 8.

Regional growth fund may ease trouble at mill

24 January 2018

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones hasn’t ruled out using the Government’s new provincial growth fund in Gisborne after Juken New Zealand announced rationalisation plans that could halve the workforce at its Matawhero mill.