Browse Data and Analysis

On November 5, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare published a marketing year 2024/25 production forecast at the lowest level in five years, at 23.4 million 480 lb. bales on an area of 11.4 million hectares.

The Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional (HRI) sector is seeing signs of recovery in New Zealand (NZ). However, aches and pains still exist. Meanwhile, NZ continues to recover from a cost-of-living crisis, which sadly caused restaurants to close their doors.

India’s 2025 beef production (mostly carabeef) is forecast to reach 4.64 million metric tons (MMT), up from 4.57 MMT in 2024, on steady domestic and increased export demand.

The New Zealand Government is in the final stages of amending its Climate Change Response Act 2002 to remove agriculture activities from the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.

FAS Mumbai forecasts MY 2024/25 Indian raw cotton exports at 1.2 million 480 lb. bales, 55 percent lower than previous estimate, due to India lint prices trading four percent higher than global prices, prompting buyers to prefer finer quality machine-picked cotton from foreign origins.

On September 25, 2024, India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) released final production estimates of major crops for Indian crop year (ICY) 2023/2024 (July-June). MoAFW estimated grain production at a record 332.3 million metric tons (MMT) due to record production of rice and wheat.

In New Zealand, genetically engineered (GE) products are regulated under the 1996 Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) and administered by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). On October 14, 2023, New Zealand held a general election, which resulted in a change in Government.

India’s domestic apple production in marketing year (MY) 2024/2025 is forecast 6 percent higher at 2.55 million metric tons (MMT) due to favorable weather conditions in the apple growing regions.

New Zealand’s apple-planted area in the 2024/2025 market year (MY) is forecast to increase substantially to 11,100 hectares (ha) from the significant damage to farms due to Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023.

Over the past two decades, India’s political landscape continues to hinder the developments in agriculture biotechnology. Bt cotton (Bacillus thuringiensis) approved in 2002 remains the sole biotech-derived crop approved for commercial cultivation.

FAS New Delhi forecasts India’s total milk production in 2025 to rise to 216.5 MMT, attributable to the growing herd size of animals in milk, increased government support for the dairy sector, the expected continuation of good weather, high milk prices, and an absence of a major disease outbreak.

New Zealand fluid milk production is forecasted to be 21.3 million metric tons (MMT) in the 2025 market year (MY).