Primary industry exports are forecast to reach $56.2 billion in the year to 30 June. Photo: 123rf
Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor says the forecast primary industry export numbers signal a bright future.
Primary industry exports are forecast to reach a new record high of $56.2 billion in the year to 30 June 2023.
The December forecast expected $55b in exports, but led by a growth in dairy, seafood and processed food exports, the result is $1.2b higher than thought.
Click here to read the Ministry for Primary Industries Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries, June 2023.
O'Connor said the value New Zealand was getting for those products was increasing, and primary sector leaders were feeling optimistic about the future.
"It's tough times ... farmer inflation has been high but it's coming back, fuel prices, fertiliser prices are coming back, labour prices are still high, we're paying people more in the primary sectors and that's indeed needed to attract good quality people. But they see a positive future, everyone's optimistic."
The UK and EU Free Trade Agreements have opened the door for more sales, he said.
O'Connor said it had not been easy to get the growth.
"Inflationary prices have been high but through the cyclone and other events, we've continued to, and this is a projection for next year, produce you know high value products from New Zealand into markets that are increasing in the value for us."
Some of the volumes had not increased, but the value received for those products was increasing, he said.
O'Connor rejected the fact that this was only due to inflation, saying the New Zealand dollar had come back which had helped.
"We've talked about moving from volume into better value, this is what we're seeing here and it's very very pleasing."
The report talks about consumers' desire to see "hyper-traceability", he said.
"It says that consumers are looking for more, they want to know that you know their products are coming from lower carbon emissions sources."
O'Connor said he had generally been well-received when talking to farmers and agriculture sector players at Fieldays.
"These are the realities that we face - we've got to have water quality that New Zealanders wish to see, we've got to have animal welfare standards. So when you have that conversation [with farmers] most of them accept we need to do these things, the speed at which that is happening is one of the issues that we've discussed."
Figures great outcome for exporters - Export NZ rep
Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope, who represents Export NZ, said producers had been using advanced technologies to increase productivity.
"They're using really advanced technologies to you know ensure that they are a) highly productive, that the quality and content, for example in soils is top shelf, things like that."
Hope said the numbers were a great outcome for exporters who had proven to be resilient in challenging times over the last few years.
New Zealand prices had generally held up well and in some cases it had been off lower export volumes, he said.
"You're seeing overseas consumers becoming more particular about what they want to see in their food and in our exports."
New Zealand exporters should be focusing on markets which can pay a higher price for premium products, he said.
Some of the technologies that have been deployed across a range of sectors help with that, he said.
China is often thought of as New Zealand's biggest export market and in a range of areas it is, he said.
But a lot of wine and kiwifruit is exported to the United States, Hope said.
"So the US is our top market for horticulture, the EU is our second biggest market - China's only our third biggest market in this area and that speaks to I think, quality."
Some high quality seafood is being exported to China, particularly in the aquaculture area, he said.
The results show a reduction in New Zealand's exports to China in a range of areas and the market there has been slower to rebound after Covid, he said.
"So what we are doing there is less volume, better pricing and again waiting for them to come out of the challenges of Covid that they've faced."
Hope said he expected the UK to start to feature more prominently in future export figures as the free trade agreement started to play out.
There was also already some growth with Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) countries, he said.
"We already had a pretty strong relationship with Japan but that's growing as a result of Japan being in the CPTPP."
India will be a focus for New Zealand exporters as a very fast growing market which will have a significant proportion of its population in the middle class within the next 25 years, he said.
