With some of the best quality soils in New Zealand our district is one of New Zealand’s cornerstones of the dairy industry. We also have a strong presence of other large primary industries such as horticulture and meat processing. These all play a major role in building a strong local economy.

The outlook for Matamata-Piako’s economy is healthy, with returns in the primary sector expected to remain above historical averages over the coming decade. In this environment food manufacturers and agricultural support services are also likely to perform well. Given these buoyant economic conditions the outlook for employment growth and wage earnings are also looking good. Results from the District’s 2022 Infometrics profile show that Matamata-Piako has performed well growing by 2.3%. The number of filled jobs in Matamata-Piako has risen by 1.6% over the March 2022 year. The District has also seen a declining unemployment rate over the past 10 years, with the unemployment rate at a decade-long low of 2.4%. In comparison, the national unemployment rate for 2022 was at 3.4%.

In 2022, the Matamata-Piako district contributed $2.366 billion to New Zealand’s Gross Domestic Product. The economic data for  the past three years shows that the Gross Regional Product of the District has increased.

All three main towns and the rural area within Matamata-Piako District are also projected to experience population and dwelling growth.

The Matamata-Piako has a range of industries. Our industrial structure by Share of total GDP (2022) is:

• Dairy cattle farming was the largest industry in Matamata-Piako in 2022, accounting for 4% of total GDP.
• The second largest industry was meat and meat product manufacturing (5.6%) followed by property operators and real estate services (5.0%).
• The industry most highly represented in Matamata-Piako relative to the national economy is dairy cattle farming . This industry contributes 16.4% to the District's economy compared with 1.9% to the national economy.
• The next most highly represented industries are meat and meat product manufacturing (5.6% and 0.6%) and poultry, deer & other livestock farming (1.2% and 0.1%).

You can read the full Infometrics report about the Matamata-Piako economy below:

Full Infometrics 2022 report

Infometrics summary Infographic