Key facts about the agriculture industry Agriculture is New Zealand's largest industry. It makes up more than half of our exports and every year contributes more than $11 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (the total value of all goods and services produced in New Zealand). Agriculture's two biggest export earners are: dairy products, which contribute around 18% to our total export earnings and account for about 31% of world trade in dairy products meat products, which contribute around 13% to total export earnings and account for about 55% of world trade in sheep meat. About 80% of the agriculture industry's products go overseas. Our most important export markets are the United States, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and Korea. New Zealand's temperate climate, fertile soils and relative isolation makes it ideal for almost every type of agriculture, from traditional sheep and cattle to deer, poultry and pig farming and crop farming. The land used for meat and wool farming is mainly hill country and rolling downs, while the lowlands and coastal plains support dairy, arable (crop) and horticultural production. The industry has continually reacted to world market demand by changing land use to suit - moving into more profitable areas, and specialising and developing products for niche markets. For example, wool production has become more specialised to cater for market demand, such as that for fine merino wool. New Zealand's agricultural industry employs about 11.4% of the workforce. This includes around 66,000 people employed on sheep, cattle and dairy farms, but does not include the thousands of family members who work on farms unpaid. Did you know…? more than 205,000 people are employed in agriculture in New Zealand - and another 25,000 people work unpaid (full and part-time family members). the more than 80,000 farm holdings in New Zealand cover around 13 million hectares. New Zealand's dairy industry earns over 18% of the country's total export earnings; we are among the top five dairy exporters in the world. About 95% of all milk produced here eventually goes overseas. New Zealand is the second largest wool exporter in the world, covering over 28% of the market. women make up approximately a third of people employed as grain, sheep, beef and dairy cattle farmers and half the people employed as poultry farmers. Back to main