Luxon meets Xi Jinping, Russian drone attack, Trump on Iran

Drones could be coming to farm sheds and beaches near you
At Fieldays' first Drone Zone, manufacturers and businesses had the chance to showcase how drones are revolutionising farming and fishing. Video / Maryana Garcia

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18 minutes ago

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Economic Headwinds In Asia Considered In Zespri's New Season Kiwifruit Forecasts

, Journalist 18 June 2025 Kiwifruit marketer Zespri has updated its indicative forecasts for the current kiwifruit season, as its 2800 growers examine how well licensed varieties will bear fruit for them. Zespri was expecting another record crop for the 2025/26 season of around 200 million trays, more than half of which had already been shipped to global markets. Average orchard returns per hectare for this season are steady or higher for most varieties, compared to last year's. Orchard gate returns by varieties The highest per hectare returns were seen across SunGold at $171,000-$187,000 and SunGold Organic at $154,000-$172,000. Whereas, the lowest per hectare returns were for Green14 at $63,000-$75,000 and RubyRed at $74,000-$79,000. Higher per hectare returns were forecast across most varieties, when compared to last year 24/25's average rates. Most average returns per tray last season (2024/25) matched this season's forecast ranges - except for Organic SunGold and RubyRed, which were down. RubyRed was 75 cents lower per tray than last year. Green kiwifruit had the lowest return at $8.25 to $9.25 a tray, while RubyRed had the highest sitting at $15.25 to $16.25 per tray. Strong global demand but economic headwinds in Asia Chief executive Jason te Brake said the sales programme for 2025/26 had started well, particularly in Europe and North America where it was seeing "strong demand". He said forecasts reflected increased yields this season, improved fruit size for Green and RubyRed and extra SunGold and RubyRed volumes coming from new orchards. "This forecast is encouraging, though there are some economic headwinds in Asia, including inflationary pressures in Japan and our teams are working hard to secure good value in generally softer market conditions," te Brake said. "We've now shipped more than 110 million trays of Zespri Kiwifruit, which is over half this season's total crop, with RubyRed sales now complete. Our teams in New Zealand and in market are focused on continuing the positive momentum we've started the season with to deliver strong value back to our growers." He said overall, the outlook was positive. On a per hectare basis, all ranges increased on guidance provided in March, except for RubyRed which nudged down $3000 a hectare at the lower end of the range. However, returns were forecast to fall for Green and Organic Green when compared to last season. Grower shareholding set to increase A recent report by University of Waikato Professor Frank Scrimgeour on the risks the kiwifruit industry was facing under current governance, highlighted concern that fewer than half of the 2800 growers supplying Zespri were shareholders. "Shareholder interests are not identical to grower interests," Scrimgeour said in the report. However, te Brake said provisional uptake of the recent share alignment initiatives meant more than 60 percent of growers will own Zespri shares, up from 48 percent. "Aligning the commercial interests of growers - i.e. ensuring all growers and shareholders clearly see the benefit to them in new opportunities - will be critical to this. "With strong demand and the industry continuing to perform well we are making the right steps set ourselves up for the future and we're committed to continuing to do so." Last month, the kiwifruit marketer reported an after-tax profit of $155.2 million for the financial year, down 10 percent on last year to $173.3m.

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28 minutes ago

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Christopher Luxon Concludes China Trip: 'No Evidence' Of Collaboration With Russia, Iran Or North Korea

Christopher Luxon has wrapped up his trip to China, dismissing suggestions the superpower is working with Russia, Iran or North Korea to undermine the West - as alleged by NATO's top official. The prime minister says he also stressed to China's leaders that engagement in the Pacific must advance the region's interests, but refused to say whether the recent Cook Islands crisis was raised by either side. Speaking late Friday at New Zealand's embassy in Beijing, Luxon said he was leaving "very, very convinced" the bilateral relationship was in "a really strong place and in good heart". The comments followed a day of top-level meetings at the Great Hall of the People, capping a three-day visit to China, Luxon's first as prime minister. The prime minister and his officials now fly on to Belgium and then to the Netherlands, where he will attend the annual NATO summit. Asked about NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte's recent warning that China is working together with Russia, Iran and North Korea, Luxon noted the "Dutch directness" - but indicated a "difference of opinion". "We haven't seen evidence of those four powers coordinating in a way, actively against the West," Luxon said. "We've seen bilateral associations, say, between Russia and North Korea, with respect to the war in Ukraine. We've seen bilateral arrangements between Iran and Russia as well, but we haven't seen evidence of a wholesale force." The rest of the delegation was now returning to New Zealand on the air force 757. Cook Islands questions linger The talks came a day after revelations NewZealand suspended nearly $20 million in funding to the Cook Islands, after its agreements with China earlier this year. Luxon repeatedly refused to say whether that issue, or any other, was discussed behind closed doors. "We need to respect that they are private diplomatic conversations that need to be respected in the privacy of the sanctum." A media statement issued at the end of the trip said Luxon had raised "the need for engagement in the Pacific to take place in a manner which advances Pacific priorities". Pressed to clarify, Luxon said the concern had been well-canvassed: "Making sure that… all major powers that aren't part of the Pacific family… respect the centrality of the Pacific Island Forum." While none of China's leaders directly mentioned the Cook Islands crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun earlier said China's cooperation with the Pacific nation "should not be disrupted or restrained by any third party". Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown on Friday labelled the funding pause "patronising" and pointed out he had not been consulted on any agreements New Zealand entered with China this trip. Luxon denied any double standard, but said he had "nothing more to add" on the subject. "I'm not going to get into it. I've spoken ad nauseam about the Cooks and the challenge." The prime minister's statement also said he raised "rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific" including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. Final talks with Xi and Li Before speaking to reporters, the prime minister took part in an official welcome ceremony at the Great Hall and then a sit-down with his counterpart, Premier Li Qiang. In opening remarks, Li spoke of global turbulence and the need for "mutually beneficial cooperation". He said he had been "deeply impressed" by Luxon's friendship and hospitality during his 2024 visit to Wellington. In response, Luxon said the international challenges made ongoing dialogue more important "even where we differ". The meeting ended with the signing of 11 agreements, promising cooperation in areas including customs, food safety, and tourism. Luxon - and the wider business delegation - then stayed on for a banquet dinner at the Great Hall. Earlier on Friday, Xi said the bilateral relationship had experienced "many ups and downs" but remained respectful and at the forefront of China's Western ties. Luxon meanwhile described the bilateral relationship as "long-standing" and of "great consequence" to New Zealand. "The world looks to China as a major global power to play a constructive role in addressing many of the challenges that are facing us all," he said. Speaking to RNZ before departure, Luxon said he had established "good rapport" with both leaders during their previous meetings. The prime minister last met Xi in November at the APEC summit in Peru. At the time, Luxon characterised their conversation as "warm, positive and constructive" but noted clear differences over the AUKUS defence pact and missile testing in the Pacific.

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43 minutes ago

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Defence Heads Face Scrutiny Week Hearing, Promise To Be Fiscally Responsible

Defence heads have assured politicians their huge new budget takes into account soldiers actually having to fire their weapons. They fronted up to an even-tempered scrutiny week hearing with MPs at Parliament on Thursday afternoon. Greens MP Lawrence Xu-Nan asked whether the budget boost of $9 billion new spending over four years allowed for buying the likes of replacement Javelin missiles, which cost $400,000 each. Defence secretary Brook Barrington responded that the increased budget meant troops could now move past the approach from the last 50 years of being only partly equipped. "The defence force is actually being provided with funding to ensure that, if we upgrade the capabilty, we are also able to shoot things with it," he said. Along with defence force Chief Air Marshal Tony Davies, Barrington laid out a raft of measures they said would enable them to buy weapons and other systems faster and smarter. "The demand queue is growing," Barrington said. "The longer it takes us to lodge an order, someone else has got their place in the queue before us and some of this stuff takes three years. "You know, you lose your place in the queue... and you're losing time." They felt a sense of urgency, but also had to ensure quality thresholds were set, so that in 3-4 years he was not up before MPs again being told, "We knew we couldn't trust you folk to bloody get your way out of a paper bag", he said. "We've got to find a sweet spot between rigour, confidence and pace." He added defence had already met with 280 people from 174 companies, both last month and this month, and that an industry strategy would be put out soon. They would be fiscally responsible with the billions of taxpayer money, Davies said. To accelerate, they would drop the old approach of trying to get 30 years of life from gear and retreading it, and instead, look at getting a "minimum viable product" quickly out to the field, he said. "Simple... quick... lean." On the personnel front, they had to rebuild forces, he said. The budget and plan had "buoyed" personnel, but their thinned-back ranks still constrained how much notice they needed to deploy, how long they could deploy for and whether they could mount multiple operations. Personnel turnover had fallen to less than seven percent, but vacancy rates in February were about 30 percent, an Official Information Act request (OIA) showed. The army was short 1500 people, Air Force 660 and navy 630. Defence was "over-training" people to hit 100 percent, when it did not need to, so was reviewing how to speed training up, Davies said. The 15-year plan was to add 20 percent to combat forces - or 2500 people - and the only way to do that currently was to cut civilian jobs down, he said. "At the moment, we've got ships tied up that can't go to sea, because we haven't got the sailors. We've got people that are going on their fifth deployment overseas, because we don't have the number of soldiers. "We've got Joint Force headquarters out at Trentham with watchfloors that can't be filled, because we haven't got the uniformed people with those skills. "We need those. The money is tight, still, even with uplifts." An OIA response showed that, in March, a hefty 313 positions were vacant at Joint Defence Services, far more than in other sections. Defence Minister Judith Collins said the point was to be able to defend against anybody who "threatened our people, or our assets". "Our people are not going to have to wave a white flag anymore. They are going to be able to get out there and protect themselves." She said she had told "prime" multinational defence contractors their best bet for getting a share of the business was to involve New Zealand firms. The small firms would not be written "out of the equation", Barrington said. He added the business cases for two very large projects - replacing the 757s and the maritime helicopters - were well advanced. Other business cases would be made short and sharp. The fleet renewal planning was by far the biggest job, but the budget gave the ministry a couple of million dollars extra for teams to do that. "What happens in two years, if the world situation's got worse and we need to step it up again?" Davies said. "How are we going to accelerate our capability acquisition process. It might be that we need to double our efforts there, so we are constantly looking at ways to fine tune it." The budget set aside $155m over four years for new military allowances for deployments and hundreds of millions for more operations.