Māori agricultural businesses had a bumper year in 2017, with the highest surplus in three years on the back of rising incomes, Stats NZ said today.
The surplus before tax for Māori authority businesses focused on agriculture was $56 million in 2017, up from $24 million in 2016. The surplus peaked in 2014, at $63 million, coinciding with record international dairy product prices.
The total income of Māori agricultural businesses rose by 15 percent to $337 million in 2017. They paid $41 million in salaries and wages, down slightly from $42 million in 2016. Agricultural assets held were worth $2.6 billion in 2017, up from $2.3 billion in 2016.
Land use
More than half of the land managed by Māori farms was grassland in 2018 (51 percent or about 228,000 hectares). About a quarter was in forest plantation (23 percent or about 104,000 hectares). The balance was in bush, scrub, and other land.
There was a relatively small amount of land in horticulture, 1 percent or 3,420 hectares, but this was up 30 percent from 2,668 hectares in 2017.
The total amount of land managed by Māori farms was about 445,000 hectares, mostly unchanged since 2016.
