New Zealand farmer confidence continues to slide

Results at a Glance

• Farmer confidence has continued to decline and remains in negative territory
• High dollar and lower commodity prices main dampeners on confidence
• Negative sentiment now impacting farmers expectations of their own business performance
• Dairy sector confidence has staged slight lift

New Zealand farmer confidence continues to slide

New Zealand farmer confidence has continued to slide, as the country’s agricultural sector struggles with the continuing high dollar and lower commodity prices.

The latest quarterly Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey – conducted late last month – has found that 44 per cent of the nation’s farmers expect the agricultural economy to worsen over the next 12 months (compared to 36 per cent with that expectation in the previous quarter and 10 per cent at the same time last year). Just 15 per cent expect economic conditions to improve.

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1210/Rabobank_Rural_Confidence_Survey_media_release_Oct2012.pdf

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