October 09, 2015
Maori farmers look for way out of commodity cycle
The Federation of Maori Authorities holds its annual hui in Wellington this weekend.
The managers of Maori assets will hope for for some insight into the year ahead from speakers like Economic development Minister Steven Joyce, inventor Sir Ray Avery, New Zealand Superannuation Fund chief executive Adrian Orr and economists Ganesh Nana and Brook Grant.
Chair Traci Houpapa says it has been a tough year for Maori producers, who are predominantly in farming, forestry and fisheries which have been hit by low commodity prices,
"While sheep and beef or red meat was stronger this year, dairy was really hit and so that has affected our members and affected bottom lines. What we will do like any other forester or farmer is start to look at how we can become more efficient in our operations, but also an emerging theme for us is how do we secure supply contracts that give us a clear line to market so we can ride out the commodity fluctuations," she says.
Traci Houpapa says FOMA members are also keen to find out how the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement might affect their business.
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