The wholesale price for salads and soft cooked vegetables has dropped significantly throughout December according to the latest Veginsights consumer and market report, following the trend from November further down and creating considerable Christmas time bargains for consumers, particularly in the eastern states of Australia. The most significant moves in product wholesale prices in December […]
New Zealand Economy Unexpectedly Contracts as Earthquake Undermines Growth
24/12/2010 by
New Zealand’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter and moved closer to a recession as the worst earthquake in eight decades slowed housing and manufacturing. Gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, the first drop since early 2009, from a revised 0.1 percent gain the previous quarter, a […]
AUSTRALIA: 65% Of Retailers Say Christmas Trading Worse Than Last Year
24/12/2010 by
The Australian Retailers Association’s (ARA) week-by-week tracking of retail trade during the Christmas period has found that last week over 65% of retailers were trading worse than the same time last year. Retailers comparing trading from 12 to 18 December 2010 to the same time last year said. – Just under a quarter (24%) were […]
Weather spears asparagus hope
22/12/2010 by
DIFFICULT is the kindest way to describe the season for Victoria’s asparagus growers. After a promising start, thanks to good winter rain, the absence of spring sunshine and warmer temperatures delayed the season for the more than 40 asparagus growers in the Koo-wee-rup area, southeast of Melbourne. Vizzarri Farms general manager Sybrand Visagie
AU: Farmers cope with wet weather
22/12/2010 by
Farmers in the Southern Downs and Granite Belt won’t let a little rain, cold, hail and wind stop them from getting their produce to the market. The unseasonably wet conditions have been one of the worst on record and lower than normal temperatures this year have kept things “interesting” according to some of the growers […]
Cherries split in Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay
22/12/2010 by
The rain has spoilt Christmas for cherry growers, splitting the fruit in many orchards in Marlborough and Hawke’s Bay. Marlborough grower Bernie Rowe says the season was looking to be the best it had been in years, but the rain has now spoiled it. He managed to harvest 70% of his crop before the rain […]
NZ: Productivity gains boost Eastpack’s full year results
21/12/2010 by
EastPack, the largest wholly New Zealand grower owned kiwifruit post harvest co-operative, is set to end the 2010 financial year positively with profit before tax and rebates expected to be up at least 10 per cent on prior year to around $10 million. “The improvement in our financial performance for the year ending December 31 […]
Agriculture production to boom: Reserve Bank
21/12/2010 by
Farmers can expect one of the best years of production in two decades, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. Despite flooding and crop damage in the east, the RBA says agricultural production will grow by 10 per cent. In its report titled “Trends in Farms Sector Output and Exports”, the Reserve Bank notes the […]