NZ falls behind Australia and EU in race for organic dollar

A lack of commitment to the organic farming sector from the National Government is causing New Zealand to fall behind our major agricultural competitors in the race to compete for the high-value organic dollar, the Green Party said today.

The 2016 New Zealand Organic Market Report, released today, shows there has been a 55 percent decline in the area of New Zealand farmland producing organic livestock in 2015. At the same time, organic farmland in both Australia and the EU increased, alongside a 15 percent growth in the value of the Australian organic sector.

“It's shocking that organic production has plummeted in New Zealand while in the rest of the world the sale of organic products is increasing 25 percent each year," said Green Party organics spokesperson Steffan Browning.

“The organics decline is linked to the National Government stripping support for the sector, resulting in production falling in New Zealand while our competitors like Australia, Denmark and the EU, have taken advantage of this opportunity.

“One of the National Government's first acts in power was to strip away the Organic Advisory Programme, which helped farmers navigate the pretty complicated transition to organic farming.

“Organic farming is integral to New Zealand's clean green brand. It's embarrassing we have fallen so far behind the rest of the world.

“The Government should be marketing New Zealand’s organic products more effectively, investing in organic production technologies through its programmes, and setting targets for organic production as they do in countries like Denmark.

“Let’s take this opportunity to be the world’s key supplier of organic products,” Mr Browning said.

Action

Protect Nature

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa. Volu...

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Agriculture Announcements

Story

Cabinet’s emissions pricing plan leaves too much to chance

Only the Green Party has a plan to reduce agricultural emissions at the scale and pace needed. The Labour Cabinet’s plan for pricing agriculture em...

Greens celebrate passing of Organic Products and Production Bill

Following decades of work by the Green Party alongside the organics sector, people will finally be able to be confident that products labelled orga...

Report shows reducing actual farming emissions vital

Evidence shows that relying on offsets to reduce agriculture’s impact on the climate will not work, the Green Party says.

Government handing Fonterra a free pass

Minister O’Connor should immediately pause the Government’s proposed Fonterra Bill and review its potential impact on the climate, the Green Party ...

Pricing must cut agriculture emissions

Cutting climate pollution must be the number one priority for Cabinet when considering how it intends to price agricultural emissions, the Green Pa...

Agricultural emissions proposal falls short

The He Waka Eke Noa agricultural emissions pricing proposal leaves more questions than answers, the Green Party says.

Petition

Take action to protect our oceans

We’re taking the health of our oceans seriously and our Thriving Oceans Plan sets out exactly how the Green Party will protect them so we all can e...

TAKE ACTION

Policy

Agriculture and Rural Affairs Policy

The Green Party will support the agricultural sector through a just transition to reduce its emissions, minimise harmful inputs and practices, rege...

Policy

Forestry Policy

The Green Party will support a viable, innovative and stable forestry industry and ensure plantation forests are managed and harvested in alignment...

Story

Review of live animal exports needed to protect animal welfare and New Zealand’s agricultural brand

The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor to review New Zealand’s live animal exports rules. “New Ze...

Cameras on boats must be quickly scaled up: Greens

The Green Party is glad to finally see the rollout of cameras on selected fishing boats but believes it needs to be scaled-up fast. “We need camera...

More measures to protect Hector’s dolphins

Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage are accelerating work to improve protection of the nationally endangered Hect...