Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Yahoo!
My Yahoo!
Mail
More Yahoo! Services
Account Options
New User? Sign Up
Sign In
Help
Yahoo! Search
web search
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
New Zealand farmers most confident in 2 years -survey
Reuters - Wednesday, August 11
Send
IM Story
Print
WELLINGTON, Aug 11 - Confidence among New Zealand's farmers rose to its highest level in two years in the second quarter, driven by an improving global outlook, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Rabobank survey of around 450 farmers showed a net 30 percent of respondents believed the rural economy would improve over the next 12 months, compared with a net 23 percent optimism level in the previous quarter's survey.
It was the third quarter in a row that sentiment has been positive. A year ago, as New Zealand's economy emerged from recession, there was a 37 percent pessimism level.
"Rising commodity prices and improved overseas markets and economies were the main drivers of New Zealand farmers improved outlook generally," said Rabobank general manager rural Ben Russell.
Agriculture accounts for around half of New Zealand's NZ$41 billion annual export earnings, with dairy produce worth around a quarter of total receipts.
The dairy sector was the most optimistic but the survey was taken before last week's international dairy auction which showed a fourth monthly decline in prices.
Earlier this month New Zealand farmer co-operative Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, said it would be reviewing its forecast payout to farmers for the current season because of the fall in prices in recent auctions. [ID:nSGE6730NT]
Of those expecting a deteriorating economy over the next 12 months, government measures were singled out as the primary cause.
"This is likely to be related to the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme on July 1 and the associated publicity surrounding it," Russell said.
Farmers are generally opposed to the ETS, which is seen as driving production costs higher. The agriculture sector, dominated by livestock emissions, accounts for nearly half of New Zealand's emissions and comes into the scheme from 2015.
The survey also showed farmers expecting to invest more in their businesses, as well as expecting a rise in land values.
Recommend
Send
IM Story
Print
Related Articles
Diverted A380 lands in New Caledonia for 1st time AFP - 23 minutes ago
India steel min sees Posco plant environment clearance Reuters - 24 minutes ago
Dollar nears 15-month low vs. yen; stocks fall Reuters - 31 minutes ago
US-BUSINESS Summary Reuters - 31 minutes ago
TABLE-Sundram Fasteners April-June net up 32 pct Reuters - 33 minutes ago
News Search
Top Stories
Supermodel Campbell defends war crimes testimony
Euro football championship advance vital for Spurs
US Fed promises stimulus to help slowing recovery
New superbugs spreading from South Asia: study
Chelsea agree Carvalho fee with Real
More Top Stories »
ADVERTISEMENT
Most Popular
Most Viewed
Most Recommended
Visitors attack Taiwan 'haunted house' actors
Chelsea agree Carvalho fee with Real
Sauna contest in Finland cut short as Russian dies
New superbugs spreading from South Asia: study
A long, hot Ramadan for many devout Muslims
More Most Viewed »
Argentine students crack three-decade-old murder mystery
40 US billionaires pledge half wealth to charity
World's first full face transplant man appears on TV
Calcium supplements linked to heart attacks: study
Massive ice island breaks off Greenland glacier
More Most Recommended »
Elsewhere on Yahoo!
Financial news on Yahoo! Finance
Stars and latest movies
Best travel destinations
More on Yahoo! News
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Subscribe to our news feeds
Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS
» More news feeds | What are news feeds?
Also on Yahoo
Answers
Groups
Mail
Messenger
Mobile
Travel
Finance
Movies
Sports
Games
» All Yahoo! Services
Site Highlights
Singapore
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Asia Entertainment
Photos
World Cup 2010