Finalists announced for Hawke's Bay Export Awards 2025
In a time of substantial global volatility, awards organisers say there's no better time to commend and recognise Hawke's Bay's exporters for their world-class products.
ExportNZ said it is proud to recognise exporters who continue to innovate and succeed globally after the finalists for this year's ExportNZ ASB Hawke's Bay
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‘Rock star' Napier firm ABB named best at Hawke's Bay's export awards
The ABB team scooped the title of Exporter of the Year at Thursday night's 2025 ExportNZ ASB Hawke's Bay Export Awards. Photo / Simon Cartwright ABB has been crowned Hawke's Bay's top exporter. The supreme winner was also announced Exporter of the Year at Thursday night's 2025 ExportNZ ASB Hawke's Bay Export Awards at the Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts and Event Centre gala dinner.
Newsroom
25-07-2025
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Ripple effects of Trump tariffs leave gloomy trade outlook
The global economic uncertainty caused by Donald Trump's tariffs will likely reduce global demand for New Zealand exports and make the coalition's goal of doubling exports even more challenging, the Reserve Bank's chief economist says. However, the fall in export demand is likely to be considerably smaller than that seen following the 2008 global financial crisis, Paul Conway says. Speaking at an Export NZ event on Thursday, Conway said New Zealand was deeply influenced by global developments, meaning 'even if tariffs don't hit us that hard directly, we will feel the ripple effects as they work through the global economy'. The global economy had been dealing with more frequent and varied shocks since the early 2000s, with uncertainty on the rise and economic tools increasingly used for political and strategic ends. 'It makes the rules of the game less clear. It makes the global economy more difficult to navigate, with spillover effects into the domestic economy.' The direct impact on New Zealand would be softened by the fact that 'we're not actually as export driven as we like to think we are', with the export share of GDP having fallen for decades, along with the fact that tourism exports were intrinsically difficult to tariff. Conway said meat, wine, and precision instruments like medical devices would be among the most directly affected export sectors. The US bought little of the types of dairy products exported by New Zealand, meaning the Trump tariffs would have a minimal impact on global dairy prices. US demand in global markets was stronger for the goods that New Zealand imported, meaning there was likely to be greater price reductions for imports than exports. The tariffs would also reshape global trade flows as buyers and sellers adjusted, with American buyers likely to look for goods from countries subject to lower tariffs in addition to locally made products. While Chinese exports to the US had dropped by roughly 15 percent in the year to June, the country's exports had held steady overall as shipments were redirected to the European Union, Southeast Asia and other countries. New Zealand's technology sector could benefit from reduced US demand for Chinese products, while the same could be true for meat exporters if a 50 percent tariff on Brazillian imports into the US went ahead as planned. With our current 10 percent tariff no higher than any other country, Conway said we were on the right side of global shifts in trade flows. However, the broader uncertainty caused by Trump's tariffs would slow the New Zealand economy down, with household spending and business investment heavily affected by the lack of confidence about what the future had in store. 'Why invest in new machinery if you're unsure about future demand? Why take on debt when you're unsure how interest rates or prices might move given increased macroeconomic volatility? It's a similar story with households.' Overall, there was likely to be a negative demand shock that reduced medium-term inflation pressures in New Zealand – a contrast to the US, where the tariffs were expected to add to inflation. While the effects would not be comparable to the GFC – another global shock with its epicentre in the US – there would be a material slowdown in trading partner growth. Asked how the gloomy trade outlook would affect the coalition Government's goal of doubling exports by 2034, Conway said he got in trouble for commenting too much on current government policy but described it as 'an ambitious target' and 'challenging'. 'Full power to the Government, and to the businesses in behind that; actually, I think it's sort of up to businesses. The Government creates the incentives, and it's businesses that need to do that.' Trade in services (outside of tourism) was the bright spot for New Zealand exports, which made sense given the country's remoteness and the weightless nature of trading products via digital means. The longer levels of uncertainty remained high, the more pronounced the drag on trade and economic growth would be, Conway said. 'A short spike in uncertainty isn't that big a deal, even if it goes extremely high, but if it goes up and sort of stays there, that can sort of suck down growth. 'I'm not sure that we're looking into that, [but] I do think there will be a sigh of relief when the tariff schedule of the US does remain constant. It's not just the fact of tariffs, but the fact of them changing all the time, which is contributing to uncertainty.'
NZ Herald
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On The Up: Wild Game from Camberley in Hastings claims best ham award again at NZ pork industry's big night out
But it wasn't the first acclaim for Wild Game, which won both awards two years ago. 'This means so much to small businesses like mine,' Hamilton told the organisers. 'I've been lucky enough to win this before, so to take it out again must show it's a quality product. I'm incredibly proud – it's hard to put into words how much this means.' Wild Game's Old School Pressed Ham, which sells for $30 a kilogram, won the national Supreme Ham Award for a second time. Wild Game also received gold medal recognition for two products in the streaky bacon category, for its Bushman's Streaky Bacon and Old School Streaky Bacon. The judging process spanned three days and brought together a panel of experienced butchers and culinary experts, who evaluated entries from across the country, all crafted using 100% New Zealand-born and raised pork. Products were judged across eight bacon and three ham categories, with gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded, and each category's top-scoring product earning the title of Category Champion. The category champions were then in the running for the Supreme Bacon and Supreme Ham titles. Culinary judge Ginny Grant said the standard was exceptionally high this year, making for a very close competition. 'From an aesthetic point of view, the ham really had that 'wow' factor when it was presented to the judges,' she said, with particular acclaim for the Hawke's Bay product. 'A pressed ham is more of a traditional style, and not only did it look amazing, but it was also incredibly moreish, with great depth of flavour and impressive balance. You could tell it had been made with a lot of care.' Technical judge Brian Everton, of Cabernet Foods, highlighted the innovation and skill behind both winning products. 'What really made both supreme winners stand out this year was just how innovative they were. Both the ham and bacon were quite different, and you could tell a lot of thought had gone into making them unique. 'That creativity really helped elevate them. From a technical point of view, they're not easy products to make either, so it's clear the producers put a lot of care and attention into getting them just right, and it's paid off.' The public cast 5400 votes for the People's Choice Award, which went to Christchurch firm Peter Timbs Meats. Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke's Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke's Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
