AgricultureID

Country agriculture profile · East Asia & Pacific

New Zealand

New Zealand's agriculture is overwhelmingly pasture-based and export-oriented, built on a temperate oceanic climate that supports year-round outdoor grazing. Pasture-fed dairy, sheep, and beef dominate, complemented by a fast-growing horticulture sector — kiwifruit, apples, and wine — and arable cropping concentrated on the Canterbury Plains. The sector is highly efficient, trade-exposed, and a cornerstone of the national economy, exporting the large majority of its output. Managing the environmental footprint of intensive dairying — nutrient runoff, freshwater quality, and greenhouse-gas emissions — is a defining long-term challenge.

Stable overview + dated statisticsUpdated: 2026-07-12

Farming systems (stable overview)

Climate zones

  • Temperate oceanic
  • Cool temperate (South Island interior and highlands)
  • Subtropical (far north)

Agroecological zones

  • North Island pastoral hill country and dairy plains
  • Canterbury Plains arable and irrigated land
  • Central Otago horticulture and viticulture
  • High-country tussock grasslands

Dominant crop systems

  • Perennial ryegrass and clover pasture underpinning grazing
  • Arable cropping (wheat, barley, maize, herbage seed) on the Canterbury Plains
  • Horticulture: kiwifruit, apples, and wine grapes
  • Forage and fodder crops supporting livestock

Major livestock systems

  • Pasture-based dairy
  • Extensive sheep for meat and wool
  • Beef cattle on hill country
  • Deer farming

Irrigation: Most pastoral farming is rainfed, but irrigation — concentrated on the Canterbury Plains and in Otago — has expanded to support dairy conversion and arable and horticultural production in the drier eastern districts.

Latest verified data

Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.

Latest available agricultural indicators, with year and unit
IndicatorValueUnitYear
Agricultural land36.88% of land area2023
Arable land1.97% of land area2023
Cereal yield9,101.9kg per hectare2024
Livestock production index99index (2014–2016 = 100)2022
Food production index100.57index (2014–2016 = 100)2022
Agriculture value added4.01% of GDP2023
Employment in agriculture(est.)5.53% of total employment2024
Forest area37.79% of land area2023

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Commodity market data

4,827 official observations across 59 commodities. Figures are shown on each commodity page with the unit, status and release its source published.

Commodities with official market series for this country
CommodityMetrics recorded
AlmondsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
AvocadosArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
BananasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Barley GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value
Black PeppercornsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Buckwheat GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cashew NutsExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
ChickpeasExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cocoa BeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Cotton LintImports, Import value
CottonseedImports, Import value
CowpeasImports, Import value
CucumbersArea harvested, Production, Yield, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
DatesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dried ChilliesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dried Tobacco LeafImports, Import value
Dry BeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Dry Bulb OnionsIndex value
Dry PeasArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Flax FibreExports, Export value
FlaxseedArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh ApplesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh BlueberriesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh OrangesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh PineapplesExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh StrawberriesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Fresh SweetcornArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value
Fresh TomatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Green CoffeeExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
GroundnutsImports, Import value
Head CabbageArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Hen EggsProduction, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Jute FibreExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
LentilsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Maize GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value
Milled RiceDomestic use, Imports, Exports, Export value, Import value
Millet GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Oat GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Feed use, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Pigeon PeasImports, Import value
PistachiosExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
RapeseedArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Raw Cow MilkProduction, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Raw WoolProduction, Index value, Producer price, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Rice PaddyExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Rye GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Safflower SeedImports, Import value
Sesame SeedExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sorghum GrainExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
SoybeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sugar BeetImports, Import value
SugarcaneImports, Import value
Sunflower SeedExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Sweet PotatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Tea LeafExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Vanilla BeansExports, Export value, Imports, Import value
WalnutsArea harvested, Production, Yield, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Ware PotatoesArea harvested, Production, Yield, Index value, Exports, Export value, Imports, Import value
Wheat GrainArea harvested, Production, Yield, Beginning stocks, Domestic use, Ending stocks, Exports, Feed use, Imports, Index value, Producer price, Export value, Import value
YamsImports, Import value

How these figures are recorded

Cereal yield over time

201320192024
New Zealand — Cereal yield (kg per hectare). Bars start at zero.
Show data table
New Zealand — Cereal yield in kg per hectare by year
Yearkg per hectare
20138,105.6
20148,033.9
20158,026.6
20168,383.8
20178,464.4
20188,064.3
20198,192.2
20209,039.3
20218,809.4
20228,381.7
20238,488.8
20249,101.9

Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12

Derived indicator

Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 5.4 % of agricultural land (2023)

Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (2.0) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (36.9). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.

Documented crops & livestock

Agricultural institutions

  • Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) — National authority for agriculture, biosecurity, and food.
  • AgResearch — Crown Research Institute for pastoral and agricultural science.
  • The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research — Crown Research Institute for horticulture, arable, and food science.

Agricultural authorities

Official public bodies verified against government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with them.

  • Ministry for Primary IndustriesMinistry

    New Zealand’s national ministry for the primary industries, covering agriculture together with its associated business units. Its official site publishes biosecurity requirements for bringing goods and animals into New Zealand and for sending them out.

All agricultural authorities

Data coverage & limitations

Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.

What AgricultureID has indexed for New Zealand
LayerStatusWhat is held
Agricultural authoritiesCovered1 record
Official registriesNot yet indexed—
Compliance requirementsNot yet indexed—
Support programmesNot yet indexed—
Biosecurity listingsNot yet indexed—
Variety registrationsNot yet indexed—
Input authorisationsNot yet indexed—
Extension resourcesNot yet indexed—
Market statisticsCovered329 records
Soil survey observationsNot yet indexed—
Border requirementsNot yet indexed—
Farm economics figuresNot yet indexed—
Climate, drought and water valuesCovered28 records

This page describes what AgricultureID has indexed, not what exists. A layer shown as not yet indexed means nobody has looked, and never that the thing is absent in that country. How coverage is worked out.

  • Statistics are dated, versioned, and periodically revised; always read them with their reference year and dataset version.
  • National definitions of farm, land use, and stock classes differ from those used elsewhere.
  • A small domestic market means output is dominated by export flows, so national figures are strongly trade-driven.
  • Pasture-based livestock systems are not directly comparable with grain-fed systems in other countries.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]World Bank Open Data — World Development Indicators (opens in a new tab)

    World Bank

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Production systems and land-use context

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  3. [3]WOAH — World Organisation for Animal Health (opens in a new tab)

    World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Animal health status for export livestock

    Type:
    Intergovernmental organization
    Jurisdiction:
    Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12