PM Edition: Top 10 Business Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 16, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

Would you pay a tax on Temu to help support local retail?

New Zealand’s clothing retail sector has been hit particularly hard by a downturn in spending, economists say – and the organisation representing retailers wants a levy imposed on people shopping at retailers such as Temu and Shein.

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said the past few years had been “brutal” for clothing retail.

Its latest card spending data showed that apparel spending lifted at about half the rate of total spending over the past 10 years, and had softened notably from a peak in 2022.

As a subset, children and babywear shops were still experiencing activity near 2016 levels.

Zollner said it was possibly because people had shifted their shopping to online retail giant Temu, or other general retailers for whom the apparel component could be split out.

“Bricks and mortar clothing retail – and for that matter their online offerings – could be losing market share, as well as people spending less on clothing. Clothing is one of those things where you can make do with what you’ve got for longer if you are watching your pennies, and it’s notable that until the last month, second-hand stores have been doing very well – and I’m sure a very big chunk of that is clothing.

“Clothing is obviously a necessity but there’s a lot of flexibility in how much you choose to spend on it and when, so I’d say it’s been behaving more like a discretionary item through this cycle.”

Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod agreed a change had happened.

“Retail spending on apparel has been tracking flat for quite an extended periods. Past the pandemic, we haven’t seen much growth over the last couple of years.”

He said more affordable consumer goods had been affected by the changes in e-commerce.

“If you think about fast fashion, you know, a lot of that stuff, you can bring it in cheaply from offshore, and our local retailers are competing with these big overseas-based or online-based retailers, including things like Temu and AliExpress.”

Carolyn Young, chief executive at Retail NZ, said New Zealand could look at what France and South Africa had done, as models of how a tax or levy could be applied to help local retail.

France is implementing an environmental fee on ultra-fast fashion brands, which will rise to 10 euros per item by 203.

“When you think about a business in New Zealand, they pay New Zealand staffing rates. They comply with the health and safety regulations in New Zealand and their products do as well.

“They have to comply to the Fair Trading Act and the Consumer Guarantees Act. There’s always costs involved in those areas. And anything you get in from offshore, you have no idea what their labour environment is like or what they’re paying their people. The product doesn’t have to meet any health and safety standards and they’re not compliant with New Zealand regulations around fair trading and consumer guarantees.”

She said the government should impose stronger measures to help level the playing field, such as a levy paid by shoppers.

“If you were buying from offshore, what we would want to see is that there would be a levy that would be applied to that, that would be at a level that would be some sort of equaliser between what New Zealand businesses have to do and comply with.

“Will everybody come back from shopping with them? I don’t know, but we have to try because that’s just going to make it much more difficult because as soon as you shop offshore, the money goes offshore. It doesn’t stay in New Zealand, doesn’t create jobs in New Zealand, doesn’t, you know, keep businesses open. And at some point, that’s going to really matter.”

She said if everyone would shop in New Zealand, it would help the economy significantly.

Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said she agreed there was a problem but the French experience had shown a levy could be an unwieldy way to address it.

Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, said it was interesting that the electronic card transactions painted a bleaker picture than the retail trade survey or GDP data on household consumption.

“Spending on durables and semi-durables tends to get put under pressure during a recession, because people tend to make what they have last longer … I expect the shift towards online retailing – both onshore and overseas retailers – might be skewing some of the numbers that we’re seeing.”

Stats NZ data showed the number of enterprises in the retail trade sector dropped from 29,244 in February 2023, to 29,094 in February 2024, 28,791 in February 2025 and 28,554 in February this year.

Other sectors that experienced declines over that time included agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, manufacturing, wholesale trade, professional, scientific and technical services.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

The latest Business of Ageing report shows older people are increasing their contribution to New Zealand’s economy through paid work, running businesses, taxes, spending, and unpaid care, Seniors Minister Casey Costello said today.

“Everyone with parents and grandparents knows about the incredible contribution of our seniors,” Ms Costello says.

“This report quantifies, in economic terms, how big that contribution is. Paid work by people aged 65 and over is now valued at nearly $9 billion a year, with a further $5 billion coming from self-employment.

“Older people are also contributing through taxes, spending and investment, and importantly, through unpaid work that often goes unrecognised. That work is not just economically valuable – it strengthens our social fabric, supporting families and sustaining community organisations and services.”

The report shows:

• The value of unpaid work by older people has passed $20 billion a year
• Paid work by people aged 65 and over now contributes around $9 billion a year
• Self-employment adds a further $5 billion a year
• Seniors pay more than $13 billion in tax annually
• Annual consumer spending by over-65s is close to $55 billion

“While these are significant figures, the Business of Ageing Report also looks ahead and forecasts how these numbers grow as our population ages, reshaping the workforce and the economy over the coming decades,” Ms Costello says.

“A key takeout is that New Zealand needs to think a lot differently about the older workforce and how to utilise its skills and provide opportunities for the increasing numbers of over-65s who will be in work. As more New Zealanders live longer and stay active, the number of older people in work is projected to more than double over the next 50 years. 

“Nearly half of those aged between 65 and 69 are currently in the workforce and this participation rate – as well as that for 70–74-year-olds, is forecast to increase.”

The Business of Ageing report was prepared by the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research (NZIER) for the Office for Seniors and is part of a series that has been in place since 2011. It was last updated in 2023.

“This information matters. If we understand how ageing is reshaping our economy and our communities, we can make better decisions about how to support people to continue to contribute and to live well as they age,” Ms Costello says.

“Older people are a vital and growing part of New Zealand’s workforce, economy, and communities and the Government’s policies must reflect that reality.”

The Business of Ageing report is available at: www.officeforseniors.govt.nz/businessofageing

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

Older New Zealanders are contributing to a structural economic shift through increased work, tax, and spending, according to a new economic study.

The report from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research found population ageing was happening faster than expected.

NZIER’s latest Business of Ageing report for the Office for Seniors used official population and labour force projections to track the economic contribution of people aged 65 and over.

It found people aged 65 and over made up a larger share of the workforce than at any point since the Business of Ageing series began in 2011, with their paid work valued at nearly $9 billion a year.

Self-employment income was reported to be worth around $5b.

The number of older people in work was projected to increase from 217,400 in 2024 to 477,800 by 2074.

Earnings from paid work was projected to rise from $8.7b to $50.2b by 2074, but more than half of this ($29.3b) was expected to come from self-employed income.

More people were relying on accumulated assets, which was set to rise from $14.2b to $104.7b.

Older people’s tax contributions were also set to rise sharply, as both incomes and population numbers increased, and their consumer spending was projected to grow from $54.7b to $357.7b.

“These projections show that population ageing represents long-term structural economic change, with effects that go well beyond fiscal settings, shaping labour markets, household incomes, spending patterns, and community life,” the report said.

“Understanding this shift will be essential for sound policy, business decision-making, and long-term planning in the decades ahead.”

However, the report also found the value of unpaid activity (such as caregiving, volunteering, and household work) exceeded $20b a year, and unpaid work was predicted to reach between $121b and $138b by 2074.

NZIER acknowledged its modelling sought to value the income of the older workforce, but not issues affecting potential or performance.

It pointed to existing reports around physical and mental wellbeing, issues around succession, retirement, and ageism, and reports that suggested a growing number of senior entrepreneurs would shift the value of remuneration towards the self-employed.

Minister for Seniors Casey Costello said the report quantified in economic terms how big the contribution of seniors was.

“Older people are also contributing through taxes, spending and investment, and importantly, through unpaid work that often goes unrecognised. That work is not just economically valuable – it strengthens our social fabric, supporting families and sustaining community organisations and services.”

Costello said understanding how ageing was reshaping the economy meant governments could make better decisions on how to support them to continue to contribute.

“A key takeout is that New Zealand needs to think a lot differently about the older workforce and how to utilise its skills and provide opportunities for the increasing numbers of over-65s who will be in work,” she said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The largest pastoral farmer in Aotearoa, Pāmu Farming, is sending $10 million in special dividends back to its owner the Crown, after the historic sale of Fonterra’s consumer brands business.

Shareholders received their capital repayment from the dairy co-operative’s Mainland Group divestment this week, including $9.5 million for Pāmu, formerly Landcorp.

The firm manages nearly 360,000 hectares across 112 farms involving the livestock, horticulture and forestry sectors nationwide.

Chief executive Mark Leslie said the board was confident to make the payment.

He said the business had been focused on improving performance, as it reached the midpoint of a five-year reset.

“Over the past three years we have been focused on lifting on-farm performance, improving productivity, and running a tighter, more disciplined business. The results we’re seeing reflect the commitment and hard work of our teams across the country. Our strong commercial performance requires high people, environmental and animal welfare outcomes, as well as responsibility for the communities in which we operate.

“As a state-owned enterprise, Pāmu manages its land and farming portfolio to deliver a financial return, return land under Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlements, and grow the future of agriculture for generations of New Zealanders.”

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Simeon Brown said the payment would bring Landcorp’s total dividends to the Crown to $25m for the 2025/26 financial year.

He said it demonstrated confidence in the firm’s financial position and its ability to deliver value for taxpayers.

“Every dollar returned to the Crown is available to support the government’s investment in the public services New Zealanders rely on, including schools, hospitals, roads, and frontline services like police. That is central to our plan to deliver better outcomes for Kiwis.

“I’m pleased to see the continued improvement in Landcorp’s performance, with recent half-year results pointing to a strong full-year outcome, supported by improved operations and favourable commodity prices.”

Pamu recorded a $95m profit after tax for the six months to December 31, following a $139m profit for the year to June 2025.

The $4.2 billion sale will transition well-known brands like Anchor and Mainland to French dairy giant Lactalis.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Seven business leaders who have made a significant and lasting impact on the economic and social development of New Zealand will be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame Laureates this year.

“The Hall of Fame exists to recognise individuals whose impact through business has helped shape our nation, while also showcasing role models who inspire the next generation of leaders we engage with every day,” Young Enterprise Trust* interim co-chief executive Abbie McKoy said.

The following laureates had demonstrated enterprise, dedication, and success across their careers, serving as an inspiration to emerging business leaders, she said.

• Carmel Fisher CNZM – a pioneering figure in the investment landscape, recognised for building Fisher Funds into a leading fund manager
• David Irving ONZM – a remarkable career across business, education, and entrepreneurship, with a lasting impact on the commercial landscape
• Dame Rosanne Meo – a business leader with more than three decades of board leadership across the corporate, public and community sectors
• Sir Robert McLeod – a distinguished tax practitioner and governance leader who has played a significant role in shaping New Zealand’s economic policy and commercial landscape
• Sir Michael Daniell KNZM – an electrical engineer, business leader, and director who has played a pivotal role in shaping New Zealand’s medical technology sector, with a career spanning nearly five decades at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
• Tom Sturgess – Nelson-based businessman and philanthropist, involved in leadership roles in agribusiness, manufacturing, distribution and venture capital with a focus on regenerative and climate friendly business practices
• Naomi Ballantyne ONZM – a pioneering leader in life insurance industry and became the first female founder in New Zealand to sell a start-up for more than $1 billion

Naomi Ballantyne

Ballanytne has been a leading figure in the life insurance industry for more than 40 years, and established a number of companies, including one that was sold for a billion dollars.

She said the induction into the hall of fame was a big honour for her and recognition of what she had achieved.

“But I think more than what it means to me is what it means to other people who aspire to take that risk and make that mark,” she said.

Sir Michael Daniell

Former managing director and still company director of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, as well as a number of other leading New Zealand technology companies, Sir Michael said the tech sector was tracking in the right direction, though would still need more people to realise its growth potential.

“I’m an optimist about New Zealand’s opportunities, particularly in the broader tech sector. And over the past few years, there’s been quite a lot of progress. We have a number of companies now that are quite substantial.

“We’re based here in New Zealand, but generating a lot of their revenue from outside New Zealand.”

He said his success in business had been a team effort.

“The reality is success is due to the capabilities and efforts of a huge number of people, and ongoing success will be the same.

“It’s important, of course, that we we have capable people who are able to to drive that progress and ongoing investment in education in particular.”

*About the Business Hall of Fame

The Business Hall of Fame was established in 1994 by Young Enterprise, an entrepreneurial education charity, that honours lifetime achievement in business and celebrates those who have shaped New Zealand’s commercial landscape.

In keeping with Young Enterprise’s mission, each Laureate was paired with a YES (Young Enterprise Scheme) student who will host them at the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame annual black-tie gala on 6 August 2026.

The ceremony would conclude with a student speaker, which was a tradition seen as a symbolic passing of the baton.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The opposition is voicing its cautious support for a crack down on black market tobacco, but warns the tobacco industry itself could be stoking fears.

A report into the illicit tobacco trade, released by Retail NZ on Tuesday, pushed for the formation of a unified response from Customs, Police, Health NZ and Inland Revenue.

Its chief executive says we need to act quickly, but the prime minister isn’t convinced.

Chief executive Carolyn Young said there needed to be a dedicated, collaborative effort.

“You also have to have the ability to arrest people, you’ve got to have the ability to seize product, you’ve got to have the ability to close the store,” she said.

“If we really want to get on top of this we need to attack it now, with dedicated resources, and funding appropriately.”

An RNZ investigation found multiple shops operating in Auckland selling the cheap smokes, with one charging just $13 for a pack, less than half the excise duty required by law to be paid.

Importing cigarettes without paying the excise duty is illegal, and offenders can be charged with defrauding customs revenue.

It was also illegal for retailers to sell illicit cigarettes, with offenders facing a six-month prison sentence, a $20,000 fine or both.

Young said she was open to legislative changes to make a taskforce more effective.

“Without having appropriate penalties that would deter criminals from wanting to continue down this pathway, then they’re just going to continue…”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins is supportive, but sceptical.

“We’re certainly open to looking at how we can support a crack down on the illicit tobacco trade,” he said.

He didn’t believe the black market was as big in New Zealand as it was overseas.

“I’m also very mindful that often a lot of the fear-mongering around the illicit tobacco trade is actually stoked by the tobacco companies themselves, but is there more we can do to ensure that we don’t have illicit tobacco trade in New Zealand, if there is a need for more action there, we’re very open to it.”

Hipkins said he was yet to see proof on an illicit market here.

“I think the key thing is we’ve got to identify what the problem is that we’re trying to solve here,” he said.

“I’ve yet to see significant evidence that there is an illicit tobacco trade in New Zealand, but if it’s out there, we do want to see it dealt with.”

In 2024, the illicit market reached 27.2 percent of total tobacco use, according to data from tobacco industry groups.

But when asked about supporting a potential taskforce, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was unenthusiastic.

“That’s not a priority for me right now,” he said.

Customs minister Casey Costello welcomed Retail NZ’s report, and told RNZ the illicit market had been a concern since she had been in the role.

“I think a joined up taskforce is a priority, is achievable, and is something that we really need, and it is consistent with my desire around organised crime to have much better connectivity between agencies.”

The minister said a joint task force would be essential, and has already sought advice around a broader “force multiplier” response from health, police, and Customs.

Police minister Mark Mitchell said he was concerned about any black market or illicit trade, which often linked back to organised crime, though said he had not read the Retail NZ report yet.

“We’ve just got to be vigilant and constantly working on ways of making sure that we don’t allow that type of black market to really become and entrenched baked in in New Zealand.”

At the moment, we were better placed than Australia, he said.

“We want to make sure that we stay there, and that we can continue to deal with these issues.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Honey exporter Comvita is taking steps to recapitalise the business, with an offer of up to $30 million of new shares at 65 cents each.

“The capital raise and refinancing package mark a significant milestone for Comvita as we continue to execute against our strategic plan,” chair Bridget Coates said.

The offer details:

• 65 cents per share offer is a 4.4 percent discount to the last traded price of 68 cps.
• Rights offer of up to $30 million open to all eligible shareholders.
• Proceeds to repay bank debt, refinancing includes a $20m working capital facility.
• Partially underwritten by F&N Ventures, a subsidiary of Singapore-listed consumer group Fraser and Neave, who will join the Comvita register as a strategic investor with a 19.99% stake following completion of the offer.

Coates said package was the result of an extensive process to recapitalise the business.

“Together, they provide the stability and financial flexibility to build on the company’s improved position and deliver long-term value for shareholders.

“We are pleased to be delivering a structure that provides certainty and participation for all eligible shareholders while minimising dilution for those who do not participate – alongside the introduction of a new investor with genuine strategic relevance to the next phase of Comvita’s development.”

She said F&N’s entry to the Comvita register was a significant and deliberate component of the offer.

“We are excited about the opportunities that co-operation with F&N may present – including in channel and market expansion, digital, data analytics, new product innovation, R&D, sustainability and efficiencies across operations, supply chain and technology.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Fonterra’s thousands of shareholding dairy farmers are being encouraged to spend their Mainland Group capital return wisely with a focus on farm resilience.

Tuesday marked the payday for around 8000 shareholders of the co-operative for the divestment of its consumer brands business of well-known products like Anchor butter and Mainland cheese, to French dairy giant, Lactalis.

Proceeds to farmer-shareholders will vary, but the payout was calculated to be around $400,000 on average each, which is now trickling into bank accounts.

It followed overwhelming support for the deal, with 98 percent of shareholders voting in favour of it, in February.

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley expected to see farmers pay down debt, and maybe some maintenance or capital spending for the farm.

He said rural communities in key farming areas would benefit from the cash injection.

“This is a big, one-off payment.

“It will take time for some of the spending impacts to flow through, but that is going to benefit rural communities. And also, we think it’ll put the dairy farming sector in a more resilient position.”

Tuffley said some older farmers were planning their departure from the industry.

“It will also set up some dairy farmers for their future as well, particularly if they’re looking at diversifying and putting that money to use in other ways that will help them at that time of life if they move off the farm.”

‘Never hard to spend money on a dairy farm’

Meanwhile, John Dawson, a Morrinsville-based farm management consultant of nearly 30 years, said paying down debt would be the number one priority for most of the farmers.

He said others were also planning on re-investing the money into their farm operations, like the cow shed.

“It’s never hard to spend money on a dairy farm. There are often deferred maintenance issues that need to be attacked, things like fencing and milking plant maintenance.

“There are compliance issues, which you can throw a lot of money at, perhaps upgrades to effluent systems and environmental initiatives.”

He said another option could be opportunities for improvement projects, like new buildings or upgrades to machinery.

“The other thing is that there’s the opportunity for expanding the business, you know, more cows, upgrades to cow sheds.”

Dawson said the payout also represented a chance for succession planning, which a few clients were looking at.

How to keep the payments tax-free

The payments were not considered income or a dividend, so would be tax-free for shareholders.

But much of the shareholding will be held within farming companies, which could funnel payments through the farm company bank account.

Tax adviser Craig Macalister of Southland firm Findex said tax implications could bite farmers if they spent their payments from the farm bank account on a personal asset, like a new holiday home or a holiday.

“There hasn’t really been a lot of discussion on what happens when people want to take that money out of their dairy milking company, and that’s where the tax implications could bite,” he said.

“Capital can go into a company, but it can’t come out in any other form that is not taxable unless you effectively wind that company up. That’s the problem that people will face.”

Macalister recommended farmers speak with their accountants before spending up.

From the sale of Mainland Group to France’s Lactalis, the 8000 or so farmer-shareholders will get their split of $3.2 billion, while the remaining $1b will go into the co-op.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

It is pay day for dairy giant Fonterra’s 8000 or so shareholding farmer-suppliers from the sale of the co-operative’s Mainland Group consumer business.

The proceeds from the dairy co-op’s multibillion-dollar sale of its Mainland consumer brands business were landing in most shareholders’ bank accounts this week.

The average payout would be about $400,000 from the $4.2 billion sale of the business behind well-known brands including Anchor butter, Kāpiti ice creams and Mainland cheese.

Tuesday marked the official payment date, after the sale was first proposed in August last year.

Reducing debt a priority

Waikato farmer Gary Reymer, who had supplied milk to the co-op for nearly 50 years, ran around 500 cows on two farms near Cambridge.

He started with the co-op as a sharemilker in the late 1970s, originally to the New Zealand Dairy Group, before the merger with Kiwi Co-operative Dairies formed Fonterra.

Reymer said it would differ how farmers used their payment, as some were more comfortable into the long-term than others.

“Some will have drinks on them, some will take a bit of travel, some will go for debt reduction, and some will go for capital improvement,” he said.

“For ourselves, it’ll just be consolidating our position, nothing extravagant… debt reduction.”

Reymer was among the 98 percent of shareholders who supported the divestment of Mainland Group, and said it was smart to sell it because the brands were no longer adding value.

“Turning off the brands business was probably the final conclusion over many, many years, decades on the back of discussion,” he said.

“Everybody’s just come to the understanding that it was a really difficult nut to crack, and this is probably the best strategy.”

Reymer said not all was lost, as the deal enabled the co-op to continue supplying the ingredients for the new owner, Lactalis.

“I see it as very much a win-win and I think that’s where the majority of shareholders have got to.

“We’ve lived through farming long enough or farmed for long enough and there’s plenty of cycles, and you’ve got to make sure you bank the good times so you can move to the bad times.”

Debt, farm equipment and family holiday

Meanwhile, for Waikato’s Wallis farming family, the mega-payment was going towards reducing debt, buying new farm equipment and a long-awaited family holiday.

Sixth-generation farmer Ross Wallis ran around 285 cows on 108 hectares with his wife and four kids near Raglan. Wallis joined the co-op in the year 2000 and said the consumer brands business had even been a “bone of contention” since back then.

“I think with consumer goods, it was kind of – you were pulled too many ways, and it was just evident that we’re really not a consumer business. We’re not good at it, for whatever reason that might be.

“But ingredients and business-to-business foodservice, I mean we’re exceptional at and we do really well. We’re probably world leaders in that space.”

In support of the deal, he said his payments were already accounted for.

“There’ll be a good chunk of it going into debt reduction, which is greatly needed. But also we’ve just purchased a tow and fert.”

He said the $34,000 investment into the 1000-litre piece of equipment would help reduce his fertiliser bill.

“With fertiliser prices skyrocketing, we just need to be more efficient at what we’re putting on, and so tow and fert allows you to put on less with more bang for your buck.”

Now only using locally sourced fertilisers, Wallis said the new equipment would allow for a more efficient use of spraying lime, small seeds and the seaweed-based fertilisers he used to improve soil biology.

“We’re [also] going to put a little bit towards an overseas holiday later in the year.”

Wallis said many farmers would likely invest in technology to drive on-farm efficiencies, as he had.

“I think we’ve got some exciting times ahead.”

Deferred maintenance, effluent system and succession

Jonn Dawson, a Morrinsville-based farm management consultant of almost 30 years, said many of his clients will be using the payout to pay down debt as their number one priority.

Dawson said others were also planning on reinvesting the money into their farm operations, with the cowshed especially the basis of all dairy farm operations.

“It’s never hard to spend money on a dairy farm,” Dawson said. “There are often deferred maintenance issues that need to be attacked, things like fencing and milking plant maintenance.”

He said compliance and projects like new buildings or machinery updates were other options.

“There are compliance issues, which you can throw a lot of money at, perhaps upgrades to effluent systems and environmental initiatives,” he said.

“The other thing is that there’s the opportunity for expanding the business, you know, more cows, upgrades to cow sheds.”

Dawson said the payout also represented a chance to consider succession planning, which a few of his clients were looking at.

He said the cash injection will be good for communities which supported dairy farmers, especially in regions like Waikato and Taranaki.

ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley did not expect any consumer spending binge, but obvious moves to pay down debt and do some maintenance and capital spending.

“This is a big one-off payment,” he said.

“It will take time for some of the spending impacts to flow through, but that is going to benefit rural communities. And also, we think it’ll put the dairy farming sector in a more resilient position.”

He said a theme coming through was that older farmers were looking to their departure from the industry.

“It will also set up some dairy farmers for their future as well, particularly if they’re looking at diversifying and putting that money to use in other ways that will help them at that time of life if they move off the farm.”

Meanwhile, the co-op’s president of global ingredients Richard Allen was announced on Monday as the new incoming chief executive, following the resignation of Miles Hurrell, announced last month.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand