Browse Data and Analysis

The Covid-19 pandemic had a major effect on the Hotel, Restaurant, Institutional (HRI) sector in New Zealand. This is especially true of the tourism and hospitality sectors which have been severely hit by the closed international borders.

New Zealand is expected to have already reached “peak” cattle numbers, and FAS/Wellington anticipates a very gradual decline in both dairy and beef cow numbers in the near future. One of the major influences on this is New Zealand governmental policy, and in particular regulations regarding livestock exclusion around certain water sources, as well as proposed pricing of agricultural emissions.

New Zealand is an important market in the Pacific for U.S. agricultural products. In 2020, despite logistical and other challenges as a result of COVID-19, New Zealand’s imports continued strong and included US$ 575 million of U.S. agricultural products.

There have been no recent significant official changes to the genetically engineered (GE) policies established by the New Zealand government.

The same problems that beset apple production in 2020/2021, especially harvest labor shortages, could persist into 2021/2022.