‘Pretty sh*t’: Farmers worry about huge costs & IMF assesses NZ economy

New Zealand’s recession is rural, with farmers describing the state of the economy in dire terms.

Speaking to Markets with Madison at Fieldays, a Fonterra supplier said his Waikato dairy farm was unlikely to break-even next year with a lower forecast farmgate milk price midpoint of $8.00.

“It’s not looking good. I can see people having to go to the bank and update overdrafts tremendously just to cover costs.”

Silver Fern Farms chief customer officer Dave Courtney and Zespri CEO Dan Mathieson agreed this year was tougher than most for farmers and fruit growers.

The International Monetary Fund was more optimistic - its assessment of our economy released this week said the slowdown was necessary, but it saw economic growth ahead.

The IMF NZ mission chief explained its forecast in today’s episode of Markets with Madison above.

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