The completed project which stood up well to heavy rain in January.Suppled / NZTA
A critical section of State Highway 35 has been raised by almost a metre as part of an upgrade to make the road more flood resilient.
The New Zealand Transport Agency says the 230 metre section at Rototahe, just south of Tolaga Bay, is typically the first to flood and close during extreme weather events.
The now completed upgrade will help reduce road closures and keep it open during severe weather and emergencies.
Six new culverts have also been installed and two more upgraded, increasing the site’s water-carrying capacity.
Transport Rebuild East Coast alliance was responsible for the work.
Project manager Richard Bayley said the upgrade has already proven its value.
“We were pleased to see that it performed well in the late January rain event, as the road had been lifted to its final height. This work is an example of the resilience being built into the network and will provide communities, freight and first responders with a more reliable route.”
Suppled / NZTA
TREC partnered with local Iwi Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti throughout the project. Kaitiaki lead Anne McGuire said the project reflected the importance of SH35 to local communities.
“SH35 is a lifeline for our communities. This upgrade will make a real difference to those that travel this road to Gisborne regularly,” she said.
Work on the second flood resilience site which is being funded through cost savings – SH2 Hakanui Straight project (formerly Nesbitt’s Dip) – is expected to be completed next month.
The highway has been raised by around 3 metres and culverts have been installed to help manage water and protect the road. Remaining work on the project includes road surfacing and marking, safety barriers and signage.
As of January, almost 90 percent of the overall Tai Rāwhiti recovery programme has been completed.
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New Zealand and Uruguay have reaffirmed their natural partnership as small, open democracies, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.
“Today’s discussions in Montevideo have underlined that New Zealand and Uruguay have much in common, as small, export-oriented countries buffeted by global forces over which we have little control,” Mr Peters says.
“In these uncertain and challenging times, it’s vital that small, like-minded countries such as New Zealand and Uruguay work together to protect and advance our mutual interests.
“We should be promoting democracy, human rights and the international, rules-based system, and deepening our long-standing and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation. There is broad scope for doing more together, including on trade policy, education, sport, science and culture.”
Mr Peters held official talks today with Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi and Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin – after which the two Foreign Ministers released a Joint Statement. Mr Peters is accompanied in Uruguay by a Parliamentary and business delegation.
“Our discussions with the President and Foreign Minister highlighted how much Uruguay welcomes the significant New Zealand business engagement here – and the potential for this to grow further, especially in high value-added sectors, such as forestry and agribusiness technology. Uruguay and New Zealand also have an abiding interest in trading arrangements that boost exports,” Mr Peters says.
“We also talked about major international issues, including developments in Iran, Ukraine, and Venezuela and the geo-strategic environments in both Latin America and the Indo-Pacific.”
Mr Peters will also attend a New Zealand-Uruguay friendship dinner in Montevideo tonight where he and the accompanying business and parliamentary delegation will meet and exchange perspectives with government officials and private sector representatives. He will also acknowledge the contribution of New Zealand Honorary Consul to Uruguay, Ricardo Shaw, for his 13 years of distinguished service.
Mr Peters and the Parliamentary and business delegation leave for Brazil tomorrow, before programmes later in the week in Chile (Santiago and Rapa Nui) and French Polynesia.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on March 3, 2026.AFP
KiwiSaver funds with exposure to oil and defence stocks might benefit from conflict in the Middle East in the short term, but providers are divided on whether to invest in them.
Oil prices have increased and stocks in companies that make weapons have also lifted.
Over the past year, the share price of Lockheed Martin has lifted almost 50 percent.
It could mean investors and funds with exposure to those sectors record better returns in the short term than those who have taken an ethical stance against fossil fuels, or against investments in weapons.
“Defence stocks will outperform,” Koura founder Rupert Carlyon said.
“Not just because of this, we’ve got to think about the significant increase in defence spending across the globe over the last 12 or 24 months and what’s expected to continue. Particularly with Europe slowly increasing their defence spending towards 5 percent of GDP.”
He said he was not opposed to invest in companies that made weapons.
“The question we need to ask ourselves is why is it wrong to invest in defence stocks? The world is a pretty ugly place…. there are a lot of bad actors out there, right?
“Whether you’re concerned about Russia, China, North Korea, Iran… at the end of the day we need weapons. There’s no hiding the fact a world without weapons made in the West is a world controlled by people that we do not want controlling the world.
“We need to think really hard around our weapons exemptions – I understand we might not like cluster bombs, and other things that are deemed illegal. But the truth is we need defence contractors. We need weapons.”
But Berry said it was a decision that needed to be made by investors according to their own ethical viewpoint.
“It’s a very personal question. And for me personally, I don’t want my KiwiSaver – to the extent absolutely possible – I don’t want my KiwiSaver invested in profiting from war.”
He said investors in weapons companies could not discern whether they were supporting weapons used offensively or defensively.
“The question is, do you want a connection with conflict in your KiwiSaver?”
Companies like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamic, Northrop Grumman and RTX had generated strong returns in the last one, three and five years.
But investors should remember they were only 2 percent or 3 percent of the S&P500 index. Carlyon said the average KiwiSaver probably only had about 0.1 percent added to their return in the last year from defence stocks.
US sailors at work as they taxi aircraft to a staging point on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, at an undisclosed location on February 28, 2026.AFP/Handout
Oil versus lower carbon economy
Oil also posed questions investors had to grapple with.
“The question with oil is from an ethical perspective, it is problematic because we’re in a world that needs to transition to a lower carbon economy,” Berry said.
“If you look at oil companies, they have had strong performance for the last year. And while, although oil itself, West Texas Intermediate was up 5 percent overnight, but it’s actually slightly lower than it was three years ago.
“But oil companies have done well. Again …oil is about 3.5 percent of the S&P index. And so you compare that to technology at 33 percent, financials and banks at 13 percent, and healthcare at 10 percent.”
He said KiwiSaver was designed to be a long-term investment and in the past 10 years, oil and defence stocks had returned slightly less than the US market average. Technology stocks have been much stronger – recording such an increase that there have been fears of an AI bubble forming.
Marika Khabazi
The founder of Mindful Money, Barry Coates said investors might react by thinking they should invest more in fossil fuels to make higher returns from supply disruptions.
“This temptation to go for short-term returns may override their ethical position to use their investment to support the energy transition. Others may choose to maintain their ethical principles, and recognise that oil price instability is more likely to result in a more rapid transition to renewable energy.”
He said it could be argued that the oil supply disruption and likely increase in the price of oil had already been taken into account in the forward prices of oil and share prices of some oil companies had already risen.
“Financial analysts in the US have been far closer to the politics of launching bombing on Iran than NZ commentators or members of the public.
“Oil price rises are often temporary. For example, the price increases after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had a short blip on oil prices and oil and gas company share prices. Both measures soon resumed their pattern over the past decade, which has been to significantly under-perform the S&P500.
“The impacts may vary between individual companies in unpredictable ways. For example, with supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. These disruptions might affect different companies in different ways.”
Gold has also been pushed up by the uncertainty, which Berry said was a rational move to safe assets.
Overall, equity markets have largely taken the turmoil in their stride so far.
The Vix index, which measures volatility, was on Tuesday morning at about half the level it was when President Donald Trump announced tariffs in April last year.
Berry said what happened from here would depend on how long the war continued and whether there was a regime change in Iran.
“What happens in terms of disruption globally? How is oil and shipping distribution impacted globally and for how long? And you really need to answer those questions to know what the long-term impact is.”
He said KiwiSaver members should remember they were diversified across asset classes and countries and that would reduce risk.
“Get your risk profile right, focus on the long term, and think about values you want to take into account in your investing, particularly around weapons and whether you want to be profiting from war.”
Carlyon agreed the market response had so far been much more muted than had been feared.
New Zealand driver Liam Lawson says he’s still coming to grips with a “sensitive” car in Melbourne as he targets a strong start to his second full season in Formula One.
This weekend’s opening Australian Grand Prix provides uncertainty and apprehension for pundits, team management and drivers alike because of major changes to car specifications.
Several top drivers emerged unimpressed with the alterations, which include smaller, lighter chassis and new power units which comprise a 50-50 split between combustion and beefed-up batteries. There is also the introduction of 100 percent sustainable fuels.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was disparaging, the Dutch Red Bull great describing the changes as “anti-racing” and as like “Formula E on steroids” during pre-season testing.
Liam LawsonAFP
Lawson was less outspoken but admitted battery management in particular was playing on his mind after some mixed testing results for Racing Bulls.
“It’s very different from last year, much more sensitive, particularly when it comes to preparing the battery for a qualifying lap and managing over a longer stint,” he said.
“On top of that, the cars have significantly less aero, which makes them more difficult to drive and less forgiving overall.
“We became aware of the new regulations early last year and began preparing straight away. So by the time I first drove the new car, I had a solid understanding of what to expect and the key differences between the 2025 and 2026 cars.
“Some weren’t a surprise, but when you get in the car, you are definitely still learning how to optimise.”
Racing Bulls chose to retain Lawson’s services after last year’s roller-coaster campaign in which he racked up seven top-10 finishes from 24 races – the first two rounds having been behind the wheel for Red Bull before he was unceremoniously demoted to the sister team.
Liam Lawson of Red Bull Racing. 2025.PHOTOSPORT
The 24-year-old finished 14th overall, with a best placing of fifth coming in Azerbaijan.
Lawson has been paired with 18-year-old British rookie Arvin Lindblad at Racing Bulls, making theirs the least experienced driver lineup on the 11-team grid.
The Kiwi said it was hard to set goals for the season, given the uncertainty around car performance.
“It’s still difficult to say where we stand, as we don’t yet have a clear picture of our true pace,” he said.
“Of course, the objective is to score points, but on a personal level, my focus is on extracting the maximum from myself and delivering the best possible performance every time I’m in the car.”
There are two practice sessions on Friday, followed by a third on Saturday and qualifying.
Sunday’s race is scheduled to start at 5pm NZT.
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The conflict in the Middle East is continuing to disrupt global air traffic with nearly 4000 flights a day being cancelled across the region.
Limited flights out of Dubai and Doha were announced after airspace partially reopened on Wednesday morning.
However, hundreds of thousands of passengers were still being impacted, with major airport hubs remain largely out of action.
But how do airlines and other authorities decide when and where it’s safe to fly near a conflict zone?
UK-based aviation expert John Strickland told Nine to Nine it was very much dependant on the government and safety agencies.
“They could be global, such as United Nations, there’s an aviation body, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), which is affiliated with the UN.
“Of course, national security bodies, including representation of embassies and consulates and so on, military intelligence agencies.
“All of that has to be put together. Certainly, it is guided through a body like ICAO with the aim of sharing that information transparently as widely as possible and airlines take those briefings. They don’t make a judgement of their own.”
‘No airline would endeavour to make a commercial risk’
Strickland said airlines had reasonable intelligence by virtue of their size and resources it can tap into.
Others may be fully dependent on external safety agencies, he said.
Emirates cancelled flights through Doha and Dubai.Thierry Monasse
“But certainly, one thing I would say is no airline would endeavour to make a commercial risk, a punt if you like, to fly just because they had passengers to move,” he said.
“Nobody will do anything until they are given the maximum possible assurance that safety and security can be guaranteed for obviously the passengers and their crews as well.”
Strickland said questions over GPS interference and other navigation challenges in or near conflict zones were also considered.
“It has to be factored in as part of the audit, part of the safety checklist as to whether a flight operation can be undertaken safely or not,” he said.
“Indeed, whether it might be possible to operate, but a different route would have to be followed if those risks are known about in certain areas.”
Strickland said repositioning an aircraft and its crews to mitigate the challenges in the Middle East were complex and expensive.
“The complexity of getting aircraft and crews back to the right place is enormous … the first thing is once an aircraft is lost somewhere else, they’ve landed, even if it’s in a planned airport, once that crew has completed their flight, they are out of duty hours based on whatever national regulatory body they come under.
“Certainly, whether it’s New Zealand or Europe, for example, there are clear regulations in place about rest requirements … crews have to have rest. It means with many crews are not where they should be. They’re not available to start afresh from home at the home base to take up new operations.
“The aircraft have to be recovered back to base and undoubtedly cleaned and checked out before they can go back into service.”
Airlines count the cost
He said it took a number of days, and in such a military-induced challenged, it would take even longer, and be more expensive.
Strickland said airlines were also trying to provide accommodation to stranded passengers, which was a positive sign.
He said there were only a handful of flights currently operating, but remained a small fraction of their usual operations.
Strickland said while the level of disruption couldn’t compare to the Covid-19 pandemic – as it affected everyone globally – it was comparable to the 9/11 attacks.
“The hub airports in the Gulf, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, and the airlines operating out of those at Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad have now become such a key part of the global aviation landscape that they are major gateways,” he said.
“They account for about half a million passengers in and out of those three airports every day or last year, 180 million people in a year.
“A large number of those are people transiting … there are people going to and from those airports, but a large number of people, not least to and from New Zealand, transiting in those airports.
“When this happened and flying ceased, there’ll be probably a couple of hundred thousand people may be stuck in Dubai airport, Abu Dhabi, Doha Airport, who were not even due to be there for more than a few hours and suddenly found themselves in this limbo.”
That’s the headache that airlines have got to slowly extricate themselves from as they can do so safely, he said.
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The procurement of a new Chatham Islands supply vessel has hit another major milestone with the signing of a ship delivery agreement, paving the way for its construction to begin.
Associate Transport Minister James Meager says the milestone ensures the 77-metre-long vessel’s delivery by the end of 2027, ahead of the current Southern Tiare ship’s retirement.
“The vessel is an economic and community lifeline for the Chatham Islands. The new ship meets locals’ needs and ensures a reliable, long-term service which can be scaled up to grow alongside the Chathams over the next 20 years,” Mr Meager says.
“The ship, which will be bigger than the nearly 40-year-old Southern Tiare, has been designed to cover all freight requirements. This includes the ability to carry livestock, fuel, vehicles, general and bulk freight.
“This increase in capacity and service reliability will strengthen sectors such as fishing, farming and tourism. Importantly, it provides certainty to businesses and the community.”
The contract with 44 South Shipping Limited Partnership, the joint venture of McCallum Bros Ltd and Nova Marine Carriers, follows last year’s preferred supplier decision.
“I want to thank the Chatham Islands community for its patience and cooperation throughout this process. With negotiations concluded, we now have certainty around cost, delivery timeframes, and performance expectations,” Mr Meager says.
“With this agreement, we have secured reliable and affordable shipping services between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand for the coming decades.
“This is a great outcome for the people in our most remote community, and is another example of our commitment to fixing the basics and building the future.”
Notes to Editor:
The Government began a procurement process in March 2025. It selected the joint venture involving McCallum Bros Ltd and Nova Marine Carriers SA (44 South Shipping Limited Partnership) as the preferred supplier in September 2025.
The Crown is funding $24.3 million towards the cost of the new vessel. The ship’s total cost is commercially sensitive.
The new ship’s length was previously reported to be 78 metres. This has now been confirmed to be 77 metres, following the vessel’s design finalisation.
Hunting in Fiordland National Park. Photo: George Ledgard.
Hunting is part of New Zealand’s outdoor heritage. For many people, it’s how they were first introduced to the bush. Early starts, learning to read the land and weather, the thrill of the chase, spending time with friends and family, passing knowledge down through generations, and enjoying the harvest.
Hunting also offers something more. It’s a way to connect with nature, to understand the places we care about, and to play a part in protecting them for the future.
Seeing the forest up close
When you’re hunting, you see animal sign, hear birdsong, and notice where the good feed and habitat is, or isn’t. This is naturing. Many hunters can tell which areas are recovering, and which are under pressure from browsing wild animals like deer and goats. Hunters’ observations often match what monitoring shows: where browsing is high, the forest is less diverse and preferred plants struggle to regenerate; where deer numbers are lower, those same plants recover 1–3. Hunters also see that reflected in the condition of the animals they harvest, animals are in better condition in when numbers are low.
That observation is one reason many hunters value healthy ecosystems and support conservation outcomes. Across the country, hunters already give back in practical ways by trapping predators, maintaining huts, reporting wild animal sightings, and contributing to local conservation projects.
For many, hunting is both recreation and stewardship.
Introduced wild animals such as deer, pigs, tahr, and goats are becoming more widespread and abundant across New Zealand. When numbers are high, they browse heavily on seedlings and understory plants. Over time, this can change forest structure and reduce the ability of native plants to regenerate and replenish the canopy. This then puts pressure on the habitats our native species depend on.
Recreational hunters help reduce numbers across many parts of the country. More than 7 million hectares of public conservation land is available for hunting, and hunter effort plays a part in managing wild animal numbers across this wider landscape.
But there’s an important reality to be clear about. Recreational hunting on its own isn’t enough to reduce animal numbers to levels that protect forest health in many areas. Research and expert commentary in New Zealand indicate relying on recreational hunting alone, without additional targeted control, often isn’t sufficient to reduce animals to low numbers that allow species preferred by introduced wild deer and goats to regenerate in our forests. It’s not a criticism of hunters. It reflects the scale of the ecological challenge.
In our own monitoring, sites with high deer numbers, like Ruahine Forest Park, show clear signs of browsing pressure on key plant species.
Why DOC needs to do intensive, targeted management
Some populations of introduced wild animals, particularly wild deer, are breeding faster than they’re being hunted. Current estimates suggest there are over 1 million wild deer in New Zealand. With a reproductive rate of around 20-30%, that means more than 300,000 new wild deer are added to the population each year. It takes a coordinated effort to keep numbers at levels that protect forest health. In many areas, the annual offtake needed just to stop populations growing is beyond what recreational hunting can achieve on its own. That’s why collective, targeted work is needed in high priority places to make a difference.
Red deer. Photo: John Neilsen.
DOC focuses intensive management on around 1.4 million hectares of high-priority conservation land, where biodiversity values are highest. Including, about 1.2 million hectares where the aim is to reduce browsing pressure from wild goats at priority sites.
Healthy forests aren’t just about trees. They provide food and shelter for birds, insects, and other native species. Every plant and animal plays a role in keeping ecosystems balanced and more resilient to changing conditions, including climate change. When introduced wild animals browse heavily, key plants struggle to survive, and the animals that depend on them are affected. Protecting biodiversity ensures these ecosystems can continue to function, thrive, and be enjoyed by future generations.
In these areas, the level of control needed is beyond what recreational hunting alone can usually achieve. That’s why New Zealand needs to use a mix of tools, selected to suit the location, terrain, and ecological values involved:
Professional ground hunting – trained teams targeting specific populations in specific areas
Aerial control – necessary in remote and rugged areas
Exclusion fencing – to protect sensitive ecological sites
Management hunts – community-led management hunting projects that contribute to the overall effort to manage animals
Commercial Wild Animal Recovery Operations (WARO) – as part of wider management and a contribution to reducing numbers
Recreational hunting – as part of wider management and a contribution to reducing numbers
All of these tools are used together where and when they’re needed. No single approach will work everywhere.
We need to use a mosaic approach, applying different tools in different places in a coordinated manner. In some areas, sustained and intensive work is required over many years to reduce browsing pressure to levels that allow high priority forests to recover. In some locations, management may include fencing to protect sensitive ecological or land-use values by keeping animals out. In other areas, recreational hunting, or commercial recovery can contribute to reducing numbers across the wider landscape.
Animal exclosure plot in Ruahine Forest Park showing the effect of browsing. Photo: DOC.
DOC ranger hunting. Photo: Karl Drury
Working together for healthy forests
The message is straightforward: hunters are part of the solution and so is targeted DOC management. Protecting New Zealand’s landscapes requires a mix of approaches informed by monitoring and science. Many of DOC’s efforts also involve iwi and hapū, hunters, and local communities working together to get better outcomes for biodiversity.
For example, in Molesworth’s ecologically sensitive Turk’s Head area, we teamed up with volunteers from the Marlborough NZ Deerstalkers Association to give wild goat control a real lift. With us providing coordination, some helicopter support and ammunition, the wide-open country became the perfect place for recreational hunters to make a meaningful contribution. In just a few days, volunteers removed more than 1,000 goats, and our DOC team followed soon after also removing over 1000. Working side by side in the right terrain, this combined effort made a noticeable dent in goat numbers and is part of ongoing work aiming to ease pressure on the rare plants and fragile landscapes that make Molesworth so special.
Lake McRae, Turk’s Head, Molesworth. Photo: DOC.
Get outdoors. Go hunting. Make sure you have a permit. Enjoy the places you care about and be part of looking after them, so nature and everything that depends on it can thrive. And if every hunter knocks over just a few extra animals while they’re out, maybe one for the freezer and one for the forest, it can help reduce numbers across the wider landscape.
1. Nugent, G., Forsyth, D. M., Smith-Flueck, J.-A. M. & Latham, A. D. M. Non-Native Deer: Origins, Status, Impacts, and Management. in Deer of the World: Ecology, Conservation and Management (eds Melletti, M. & Focardi, S.) 887–912 (Springer Nature Switzerland, Cham, 2025). doi:10.1007/978-3-031-17756-9_60.
2. Tanentzap, A. J. et al. Landscape‐level vegetation recovery from herbivory: progress after four decades of invasive red deer control. (2009).
3. Nugent, G., Fraser, W. & Sweetapple, P. Top down or bottom up? Comparing the impacts of introduced arboreal possums and ‘terrestrial’ ruminants on native forests in New Zealand. Biological Conservation 99, 65–79 (2001).
4. Allen, K. et al. Long‐term exclusion of invasive ungulates alters tree recruitment and functional traits but not total forest carbon. Ecological Applications 33, e2836 (2023).
5. Latham, A. D. M. & Nugent, G. Introduction, impacts, and management of non-native deer and other hunted ungulates in New Zealand. Journal of Japan Deer Studies 2017, 41–57 (2017).
6. Fraser, W. The Effect of Recreational Hunters on Deer Populations in Pureora Conservation Park. Science for Conservation 38 (1996).
7. Nugent, G. & Choquenot, D. Comparing cost-effectiveness of commercial harvesting, state-funded culling, and recreational deer hunting in New Zealand. Wildlife Society Bulletin 32, 481–492 (2004).
8. Fraser, K. W. Status and Conservation Role of Recreational Hunting on Conservation Land.
9. Forsyth, D. M., Allen, R. B., Marburg, A. E., MacKenzie, D. I. & Douglas, M. J. Population dynamics and resource use of red deer after release from harvesting in New Zealand. New Zealand journal of ecology 277–287 (2010).
Latest house sales data indicates there is a shortage of ultra-luxury housing to meet the requirements of high-net-worth immigrants.
Changes to the Active Investor Plus visa, which take effect next week, limit house-buying immigrants to homes priced over $5 million.
Data collected by sales portal realestate.co.nz indicates the tightest house supply constraints were emerging well above that level, with only 142 properties listed above $10m available nationwide.
International premium-grade homes priced more than $20m were scarce.
A luxury house in Remuera, Auckland.Supplied
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Sarah Wood said the top end of New Zealand’s residential property market was relatively immature by global standards.
“The AIP visa programme effectively introduces a positive demand shock into this segment of the market overnight, however, the supply has not had a chance to grow organically over time. The result is significant pressure on the supply of houses valued in the tens of millions.”
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Sarah Wood.Supplied
Data supplied by Immigration NZ indicates nearly 590 people from 33 countries have so far applied for residency under the AIP visa programme.
Agents reported a growing segment of applicants who were only interested in property priced more than $20m, with demand outstripping supply by about five times.
Portal data indicated there had been 36,000 overseas-based searches for homes price over $5m over the past year, with North America and UK making up over a third (34 percent).
“The United States accounts for around a fifth (19 percent) of international $5 million-plus searches, followed by the United Kingdom at 9 percent and Canada at 4 percent. That profile reflects demand from established wealth markets rather than speculative traffic.”
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Supply pressure and buying interest saw dairy prices continue their climb at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction overnight.
The average price rose 5.7 percent overnight to US$4301 (NZ$7299) a tonne.
It was the fifth consecutive auction where prices have risen since the start of the year and followed a 3.6 percent rise at the previous one.
The New Zealand exchange’s head of dairy insights Cristina Alvarado said even though milk production has been high in the key global regions the volume on offer at the event was down.
She said Fonterra was the company with one of the biggest offerings, but New Zealand was now heading toward the end of its milking season.
“New Zealand’s milk production curve is now firmly in seasonal decline, and forward offer volumes through March to May indicate further easing,” she said.
“At the same time, growing domestic protein demand in the United States and new cheese capacity not yet operating at full utilisation are absorbing milk locally.”
She said with the tightness of product in the US demand was higher for certain products, particularly skim milk and butter.
“We’ve seen a pattern in this last year of more buying what you need rather than building large stocks.”
The important whole-milk powder price, which influences farmer payouts, rose 4.5 percent to US$3863 a tonne.
There were price gains across the board too with skim milk powder up 9.1 percent, along with butter up 6.1 percent, mozzarella 7.9 percent and cheddar 4.3 percent.
The regions which bought most of the product were North and South Asia, however, Alvarado said in terms of percentage buying there was an increase from those in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“With ongoing geopolitical tensions affecting Middle Eastern logistics and trade lanes, and in the absence of recent Algerian tenders in the region, it is notable that EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] participation strengthened rather than retreated.”
Alvarado said the Middle East was a “significant” and “growing” market for New Zealand – among our top three buyers.
“It’s definitely a key region and we would hope that despite everything going on and as we saw at the auction today they’re still buying product, even more so.”
While the conflict had brought “some logistics challenges”, she said it presented a competitive advantage for New Zealand in getting supply to its key buyers in Asia over other competitors in Europe.
Alvarado expected prices to remain steady with continued prices increases, though possibly at lesser rates.
“I don’t really see them dropping as there is a need for product and from our end we are heading towards the end of our season.”
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