December 07, 2022
Māori hort surge helping bottom line
Māori agribusiness interests should benefit from a forecast 4 percent increase in the value of exports next year.
That’s the word from Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri, and the Ministry for Primary Industries predicts farm, forest and fishing exports next year at a record $55 billion.
She says the primary sector has been keeping the country afloat .
“Of course Maori is a significant player in forestry, in fishing, in hortuicuulture. We’ve seen massive growth, particularly round the Bay of Islands where Maori corporations are coming on board, we’ve got the birth of apples particularly round in my patch of Ngati Pahauwera and Napier and over in Wairoa,” Ms Whaitiri says.
She says the importance of the primary sector to Maori can be seen in the Ngati Maniapoto settlement, which includes a protocol with MPI around revigorating their whenua.