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Kate Acland: Beef and Lamb Chair on the red meat sector's annual $50 billion spending contribution · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The red meat sector is a big part of the economy,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: generating seventeen point five billion and GDP every year in
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: supporting one and every twenty jobs. A New World study
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: out today shows the industry backs more than one hundred
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and twenty thousand full time jobs across the country, underlying
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: its huge contribution to New Zealand's economic performance. Beef and
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  Speaker 1: Lamb chair Kate Ackland joins me. Now, good morning, Kate,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: thanks for your time.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Good morning, thanks for having me.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Did these figures come as a surprise to you.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: No, Look they don't. We do this. You know, we
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  Speaker 2: commission this reports of every five years or so, and
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  Speaker 2: you know there has been quite an upset, particularly in
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  Speaker 2: the number of jobs it supports, and I think it's
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  Speaker 2: really just important that it shows the impact of the
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  Speaker 2: red sector and how it really underpins to heal in
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: the economy.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: So how significant is it, Well, the red.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Meat sept that generates forty eight billion dollars in spending
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: and when you break that down, you know farmers are
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: spending sixty four million dollars in regional communities every day,
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  Speaker 2: and when you add on the downstream spending to about
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: one hundred and thirty three million dollars of spending that's happening,
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  Speaker 2: So it's really just keeping the economy going round and round.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: I thought the other statistic that was really interesting is
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: that it supports one in every twenty jobs.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: Well, absolutely, and that's on a national scale, but when
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: you look at places like Tartanaki or Suthland, that's about
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  Speaker 2: twelve percent in regions like that, so really particularly important
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: for region or New Zealand.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: I wasn't sure whether I should be surprised about these
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: figures because, as you said, we know that the primary
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: sector is the backbone of the economy. Do we know
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: how maybe it compares to other sectors like the dairy sector.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Well, when you start adding in the dairy sector, then
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: suddenly pastoral farming as a whole becomes incredibly important for
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: New Zealand. And we know that the dairy sector is
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  Speaker 2: the biggest goods exporter, closely followed by the red meat sector.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: So rural New Zealand is driving New Zealand economy at
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  Speaker 2: the moment, and I think it's important just to keep
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  Speaker 2: these figures front and center as we look at where
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: we invest in people and where we invest in growing
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  Speaker 2: our economy.
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  Speaker 1: It also shows just how much the red meat sector
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  Speaker 1: relies on exports, doesn't it.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Absolutely? I mean, we explore that ninety eight percent of
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  Speaker 2: our products, and even in these geopolitically certain times, the
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: red meat sector continues to be really, really strong and resilient.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Okay, so how do you see the future, more jobs,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: more contribution to the economy.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Well, we've got really strong ambitions for the future to
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  Speaker 2: grow not just the size but also the value of
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  Speaker 2: the red meat sector, and the future is strong demand.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Demand has never been stronger for quality of protein, and
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  Speaker 2: we've got fantastic market access into a range of different markets.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: So even though we are facing things like the Middle
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: East crisis, we've still got a really strong resilient sector.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: How good to start Monday with a good news story, Kate.
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  Speaker 2: Isn't it great, especially as we go into the field
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: days this week.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: Love you to talk to you. Thank you so much.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: That was Kate Acklan. There for more from Early edition
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: with Ryan Bridge.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Listen live to News Talks at Me from five am weekdays,
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.