1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,480
Speaker 1: More yet more good numbers around our economy. It seems

2
00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,000
Speaker 1: export in New Zealand and think pretty much rolling in it.

3
00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:07,200
Speaker 1: At the moment, Food and fiber are on track to

4
00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,559
Speaker 1: surpass the sixty billion mark for the first time. That'll

5
00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,399
Speaker 1: be three billion higher than projected. Horts up nineteen percent

6
00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,120
Speaker 1: to eight and a half billion diary of course, sixteen

7
00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:18,400
Speaker 1: percent up to twenty seven billion. That story is well told.

8
00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:20,720
Speaker 1: Tom mcclay's the Agriculture and Trade Minister of course, and

9
00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,360
Speaker 1: as well it's Todd morning Field days good.

10
00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:27,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, a great feeling yesterday, very positive. Farmers are feeling

11
00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:29,680
Speaker 2: good and we're starting to hear from a lot of

12
00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,280
Speaker 2: the exhibitors there that they're starting to spend some money.

13
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:33,599
Speaker 2: So that's great for the economy.

14
00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,920
Speaker 1: So that twenty percent in the budget will or is working.

15
00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:40,839
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is. Look, I think they're still going to

16
00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:42,879
Speaker 2: be cautious and just rates have only just started to

17
00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:44,400
Speaker 2: come down and there'll be just a bit of debt

18
00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,960
Speaker 2: around and there's a you know, international uncertainty. But I

19
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,480
Speaker 2: heard a story of one farmer yesterday that bought three tractors.

20
00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:52,559
Speaker 2: He said he's needed them for a long time, but

21
00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:54,880
Speaker 2: this has just helped them and done. He decided to

22
00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,040
Speaker 2: spend that money now rather than on the back of

23
00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:58,840
Speaker 2: good dairy payouts, pay a bit of tax.

24
00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,040
Speaker 1: Good this bill, I mean, is this sheer demand? And

25
00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,080
Speaker 1: if it is, where's the demand coming from?

26
00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,160
Speaker 2: It's a combination of three things. Yes, more demand around

27
00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,680
Speaker 2: the world. We're seeing Europe are very good for us

28
00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,000
Speaker 2: out of those free trade agreements, Southeast Asia and even

29
00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,000
Speaker 2: China starting to comeback quite strongly now, at least for

30
00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,360
Speaker 2: New Zealand exporters. Secondly, we've had a good year for

31
00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,040
Speaker 2: a grass growing and a lot more milk out there.

32
00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:29,360
Speaker 2: And then we're also seeing that in many cases starting

33
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,120
Speaker 2: to go up the value chain a little bit more.

34
00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:32,560
Speaker 2: I'm going to give you an example of one of

35
00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,280
Speaker 2: those numbers, horses up twenty percent for the first time ever.

36
00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,200
Speaker 2: Zespery has sold five billion dollars with a Kiwi fruit

37
00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,040
Speaker 2: around the world. That's extra volume, but it's extra value

38
00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:44,440
Speaker 2: as well.

39
00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,240
Speaker 1: So the supply side of that equation. If we grew more,

40
00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:50,920
Speaker 1: planted more, did more, could we sell more or are

41
00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:52,560
Speaker 1: we at max? No?

42
00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,280
Speaker 2: We could so, absolutely we could. And the reason for

43
00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,160
Speaker 2: that is, you know, we are a small producer compared

44
00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,240
Speaker 2: to the population of the world. So think of it

45
00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:02,680
Speaker 2: this way. You know, we're in India. In fact, I

46
00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,000
Speaker 2: think last week I had negotiators up there in India.

47
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:07,960
Speaker 2: I met with the Indian trademan as the last week

48
00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,320
Speaker 2: and we said to our negotiators, get on with it.

49
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,760
Speaker 2: We're very keen for a deal. If we unlock that,

50
00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,639
Speaker 2: even just half of the potential that Australia on their FDA,

51
00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,760
Speaker 2: we could not produce enough food for the demand in

52
00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,040
Speaker 2: that market. But guess what I backed my negotiators get

53
00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:24,080
Speaker 2: a better deal.

54
00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,440
Speaker 1: Good is our people cognizant of all of this in

55
00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,480
Speaker 1: the sense who is and where are they that can

56
00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,200
Speaker 1: buy more land, plant more land, develop more land, do

57
00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,360
Speaker 1: all of that and is that happening or not?

58
00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,080
Speaker 2: Well, it's two things. We're going through a lot of

59
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,640
Speaker 2: reform of planning rules and water and so on to

60
00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,560
Speaker 2: focus on better outcomes, not just expensive processes. And so

61
00:02:47,639 --> 00:02:49,920
Speaker 2: actually what we have the oportunity is maximize the production

62
00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:51,920
Speaker 2: on the land that we already have. But I've got

63
00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:53,840
Speaker 2: a piece of work underway that we'll be talking about

64
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,000
Speaker 2: soon that really says, if you can show the same

65
00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:02,079
Speaker 2: or an improved environmental or climate footprint, then why shouldn't

66
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,640
Speaker 2: you be able to change your land use or produce more,

67
00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:06,919
Speaker 2: And so we've got to move away from a situation

68
00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,240
Speaker 2: that it says we have to you know, we should

69
00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,320
Speaker 2: be producing less for a result, leaning into technology and

70
00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:15,360
Speaker 2: innovation and finding ways to be much more productive because

71
00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,440
Speaker 2: guess what our farmers are how we make New Zealand.

72
00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:19,680
Speaker 1: Richard the other part of the equation. So beef's an

73
00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,240
Speaker 1: interesting one. There's a lack of beef in some parts

74
00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,000
Speaker 1: of the world being locally produced. Therefore we fill the void.

75
00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,120
Speaker 1: Is there a chance that those people start producing more,

76
00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,320
Speaker 1: whether it's beef or dairy or whatever, and then we're

77
00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:31,040
Speaker 1: a bit stuck.

78
00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,080
Speaker 2: Well, that's always going to happen a little better. I mean,

79
00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,080
Speaker 2: I think about a number of markets. We always compete locally.

80
00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:39,560
Speaker 2: What happens is we don't often compete on price. So

81
00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,880
Speaker 2: if I take the EU market or the Chinese market,

82
00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,840
Speaker 2: we generally are at a higher price point in that

83
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,640
Speaker 2: market than their producers are, So that means we're not

84
00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:51,840
Speaker 2: competing unfairly. But I was talking to one of our

85
00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:56,640
Speaker 2: big exports yesterday. We launched a grass fed certification and

86
00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,760
Speaker 2: standard that says the New Zealand government put a stamp

87
00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,280
Speaker 2: on your product dairy or red meat to say it

88
00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:04,080
Speaker 2: is grass fed, because we know in a number of

89
00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,839
Speaker 2: markets around the world, those consumers are willing to pay more.

90
00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,520
Speaker 2: They told me with everything going on in the US,

91
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,520
Speaker 2: their grass fed brand just has the greatest amount of

92
00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,080
Speaker 2: growth of any of their products ever there. And it's

93
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,480
Speaker 2: across the board. So even if we do face competition elsewhere,

94
00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,360
Speaker 2: that high quality, safe reputation that we have, you know,

95
00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,680
Speaker 2: backing that up will mean that actually we can weather

96
00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:25,680
Speaker 2: in the odd storm.

97
00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,719
Speaker 1: Good related matters your thing on key we saber and

98
00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:30,680
Speaker 1: opening it up to farms and stock and stuff. Where

99
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:31,320
Speaker 1: are you at with that?

100
00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:35,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, it works underway certainly on that. It was a

101
00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:37,919
Speaker 2: commitment we made before the election. We've sort of been

102
00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,279
Speaker 2: chunking through the very long list of things that we

103
00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,400
Speaker 2: committed to doing for the primary sector and some of

104
00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:45,960
Speaker 2: the ones who were most important holding them back. But

105
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:47,880
Speaker 2: I would expect we'll have more to say before the

106
00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:48,400
Speaker 2: end of the year.

107
00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,599
Speaker 1: Good stuff. Appreciate your time. Tom McLay, who's the Egg

108
00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:51,840
Speaker 1: and Trade Minister, with us.

109
00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,960
Speaker 2: This morning for more from the Mic Asking Breakfast listen

110
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,000
Speaker 2: live to news talks. It'd be from six am weekdays,

111
00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,200
Speaker 2: or follow the podcast on I hardredeo