Value of Dairy Sector Questioned By Green Party
NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand’s dairy sector has reacted after being called a “one trick pony” and the government slammed for betting on the farm.Green Party co-leader Dr Russel Norman has come under fire from farmers after criticising the government for taking a risk on dairy farms.
This attack is “ill-advised”, said Federated Farmers of New Zealand.
Dr Norman said farming produces lower tax revenues, risking budgets.
Dairy chairperson Andrew Hoggard justified government faith in dairy farming, underlining the potential in world dairy markets.
He said: “Primary exports are an increasingly large share of our merchandise export returns and dairy an increasingly large share of farm production.
“The signals from the market are that growing middle classes, especially in South Asia, are developing a sustained taste for dairy products, and New Zealand is a respected source of those dairy products”.
In Mr Hoggard’s eyes, this does not constitute a “bet”, as Dr Norman described it.
TheCattleSite News Desk