21st July 2026 // Rural News

Federated Farmers claims win as Government drops council-iwi agreement transfers Inflation hits two-year high on fuel price surge Asian markets driving New Zealand avocado export growth   WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.   Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZ   Federated Farmers claims win as Government drops council-iwi agreement transfers Federated Farmers is claiming a win after the Government agreed to stop existing and new Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements from transferring into the new resource management system. The move comes just a week after Federated Farmers raised the alarm about councils rushing to lock in iwi partnership agreements before the law changes — including Environment Canterbury, which gave elected councillors just one week to consider an agreement with Ngāi Tahu. RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper says the Government has listened. Under the changes recommended by the Environment Committee, no existing or initiated agreements will carry over into the new planning system. Instead, councils will be able to enter more narrowly scoped iwi participation agreements with clear legislative guardrails. Hooper says decision-making powers affecting communities must remain with democratically accountable elected representatives — and the new guardrails are an important step toward ensuring that.   Inflation hits two-year high on fuel price surge New Zealand's annual inflation rate has risen to four-point-one percent in the year to June — its highest level in more than two years and above the Reserve Bank's one-to-three percent target band — driven largely by surging fuel prices. Petrol rose twenty-seven-point-five percent annually and accounted for almost a quarter of the total inflation increase. Diesel jumped forty-seven-point-seven percent in the June quarter alone. Together, petrol and diesel accounted for nearly two thirds of the one-point-five percent quarterly rise. Without fuel, annual inflation would have been two-point-nine percent — comfortably within the Reserve Bank's target. Electricity was the next largest contributor, up twelve percent for the year, while council rates rose eight-point-eight percent. Economists expect the Reserve Bank to begin raising the Official Cash Rate at its September meeting, with further increases likely in December.   Asian markets driving New Zealand avocado export growth New Zealand's avocado sector is pivoting rapidly toward Asia as Australian demand softens, with exports to South Korea surging seventy percent and shipments to China, Hong Kong and India nearly doubling in the 2025/26 season. Total export volumes reached three-point-four million trays, down around nine percent on the previous year due to wind damage and constrained market windows. Australia remains the largest single market at twenty-two percent, but five years ago it accounted for more than two thirds of all Kiwi avocado exports — highlighting just how far diversification has come. The newly signed New Zealand-India trade deal is adding further optimism, with avocado tariffs set to be phased out over ten years. Exports to India are already growing strongly. Globally, avocado production continues to expand, but the developing El Niño is expected to increase yield variability and market volatility rather than cause a broad supply squeeze.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.