15 May 2007

1 minute read

Oceania

"It's another golden age of New Zealand agriculture", said Dr Andrew West, AgResearch CEO.

"The perfect storm in reverse if you like. European production subsidies are coming to an end. The United States is switching much of its cereals into fuel for cars rather than food for humans. And Asian demand for livestock derived foods - milk and meat - is massively surging. It means demand is outstripping supply.

“New Zealand has faced trade barriers for decades. They represent our own version of the Berlin wall. That wall is going to start to be pulled down, brick by brick, not so much by governments, but by supermarkets and final consumers demanding to be fed.”

“New Zealand beef can’t feed the world alone. But it can feed many middle class consumers in the Americas, Asia and Europe”, he said.

“Studies funded by Meat and Wool New Zealand and conducted by AgResearch show that productivity of beef farms could be raised by up to 300% on some farms with new technologies, yet to be applied. It is the mix of on farm productivity gains with the creation of new, high value products that is so exciting. We need to grasp the opportunities before us – decisively.”

TheCattleSite News Desk