Rabobank's Agribusiness Monthly update for August is "pretty stable in a lot of ways" despite Covid-19's impact on global economies, Todd Charteris says.
"If you look at commodity prices on the main they've actually held pretty firm - and that's encouraging," Rabobank's chief executivetold The Country's Jamie Mackay.
Charteris was quick to point out that the latest report was released before the recent dip in the Global Dairy Trade Auction, so dairy commodity prices would be tested in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, the US market was ensuring that Kiwi beef prices remained bullish, Charteris said.
"That US market is really underpinning beef prices and we do expect prices to hold and to potentially even see a little bit of upside movement there on the back of that market."
Listen below:
However, China was a different story, with that market being "still quite challenging," Charteris said.
Horticulture prospects were looking positive, as consumers sought out healthier foods such as kiwifruit.
"This is a health crisis we're dealing with ... so people really start to prioritise."
However, there would eventually be "a trade-off at a price point" as global economic factors continued to influence people's incomes due to the pandemic, Charteris said.
"So it is a trade-off but at this stage there is some positive demand in those markets."
