Global economy's 'stormy waters': How Kiwi farmers can navigate them

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The global economy is looking "pretty wobbly", but there are opportunities for Kiwi farmers if they play their cards right says Michael Every.

Lobbying for "a bit more funding" was an option, as this was the time when people expected governments around the world to "step up and do a bit more" said Rabobank's Head of Financial Markets Research Asia-Pacific.

"I think we're going to see pressure on governments globally to realise that, yes, we have really sailed into very stormy waters. We've gone in the wrong direction and followed the wrong map and what we need to do now is to try and spend more money to paddle backwards as fast as we possibly can".

This nautical theme was echoed in a presentation Every gave on the state of the global economy for 2020 at Rabobank functions around the country recently.

"I'm travelling around with a slide pack called All Hands on Deck and the cover picture is of the ship's bell of the Titanic. So I think that gives you some indication of the underlying message" he told The Country's Rowena Duncum.

Listen below:

"You've got our expectation for a recession happening in the US in the second half of next year and we think Brexit is a mess and Europe itself is obviously not doing too well, and in Asia we're not too optimistic about China either. So you put all that together and yeah, stormy weather ahead it would appear".

On positive aspect of this situation was rates cuts and a drop in New Zealand's OCR said Every.

Rabobank's Head of Financial Markets Research Asia-Pacific, Michael Every. Photo / Supplied

"Maybe it's looking pretty gloomy out there, but at least there's a lifeboat in the form of lower borrowing costs for farmers which is always good".

Despite the doom and gloom, Every said the economy was "nowhere near as bad as what we saw ten years ago" during the global financial crisis.

People were conditioned to expect the economy to grow every year, and recession was treated as "the end of the world", but ups and downs were to be expected - just ask a farmer said Every.

"All this fuss and bother to an extent is basically about the rest of the world experiencing some of the volatility that the hard working farmers see every day of the week".

Also in today's interview: Every gives an overview of Brexit.