WELLINGTON, March 12 (Xinhua) -- A new report published on Thursday highlighted the primary sector's strength and resilience in New Zealand to respond to the effects of drought and the global impact of COVID-19.
The latest Situation Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI), produced by the Ministry for Primary Industries, forecasts primary sector revenue will rise 0.5 percent in the year to June 2020 to 46.5 billion NZ dollars (29 billion U.S. dollars).
Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash said the negative impact of COVID-19 on the rock lobster industry is clear in the SOPI forecasts, which estimate a 2.2-percent fall in seafood export revenue.
"Despite the collapse of the rock lobster market in China, there is room for the wider seafood industry to be optimistic," he said, adding that aquaculture earnings continue to grow and are expected to increase by more than 10 percent in the current financial year.
The SOPI notes that prices remain strong for blue grenadier, with a high demand for squids and growing exports of salmons and mussels, Nash said.
"The sector is showing its underlying strength and resilience despite the challenging domestic drought and global conditions related to COVID-19," Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said in a statement.
"We saw strong performance across most of our primary industry exports in the first six months of the year, mostly as a result of growing demand and good prices in dairy, red meat and horticulture," O'Connor said.
The government is closely monitoring the situation and working with industry leaders to ensure New Zealand's high-quality products continue to get to market despite the global trade issues created by COVID-19, he said.
"While our forecasts show export revenue will take a number of short-term hits, demand for New Zealand food and fiber products should continue to be strong in the longer term," O'Connor said.
