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War in Iran plays havoc with exports NEWS
Transport
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RINGING containers full of produce back to New Zealand could be the best option for some exporters unable to get them to their intended destination in the Persian Gulf following the attacks on Iran. Containers bound for the Gulf are being unloaded in Singapore while exporters negotiate with customers and shipping lines and try to predict where the conflict will go next. ANZCO’s sales and marketing manager, Rick Walker, said the meat exporter had been in touch with its distributor in Dubai. “They are pretty confident this is short term and could we please keep sending stuff but our response is our hands are tied because the shipping companies are not shipping there. “We are not going to be producing anything for that distributor until we have got 100% certainty that we can put it in a container and on a boat and it will get there.” Emma Parsons, chief executive at Kotahi, one of New Zealand’s largest shipping supply chain entities, said shipping lines have stopped sailing into the Persian Gulf and Kotahi is developing contingency plans and alternative routes for cargo destined for the
Middle East or scheduled to transit through the region. “We currently have 4000 TEU [20-foot equivalent unit containers] of cargo in transit on this trade lane,” Parsons said. Ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz to access Bahrain, Kuwait, Quatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. AgriHQ senior analyst Mel Croad said in the last full export season to September 30 2025, New Zealand exported 16,000 tonnes of lamb to Persian Gulf markets, with Saudi Arabia taking about half. Demand from those markets had strengthened in recent months. Croad said global demand and prices for sheepmeat are strong, which gives meat companies options such as diverting products to China, which takes similar cuts. The Gulf States account for 10% of apple exporter Mr Apple’s overall sales. It also holds the licence for kiwifruit marketer Zespri’s sales to the region, which had been due to get into full swing in the next few weeks. Head of sales and marketing Ben McLeod said with the Strait of Hormuz shut off to shipping, the exporter had considered unloading containers in Oman and trucking them overland to reach their customers in the Gulf. But this option had been closed off after Iranian drones began to target Oman’s main ports. Continued page 3
Tsenden-Ish Jargalsaikhan, from Sukhbaatar, Mongolia, became the first person from Mongolia to reach a major shearing final, qualifying for the novice final at the 2026 Golden Shears in Masterton last week. Jargalsaikhan finished fifth in the final, and northern hemisphere competitors claimed three early lower-grade titles. A full wrap of the fourday event, which finished on Saturday, will appear in next week’s Farmers Photo: Supplied Weekly.
Young farmers over moon on KiwiSaver Morrinsville sharemilker Danielle Hovmand says the changes to KiwiSaver will allow young farmers to move forward financially and give them further options in achieving farm ownership. Photo: Gerald Piddock
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Vol 24 No 9 | March 9, 2026