Manawatū-Whanganui’s retail sales hit $861 million over the first three months of the year, up 10.6 per cent on the start of 2020. Federated Farmers Manawatū president Murray Holdaway said commodity prices were high for everything except wool, which had boosted farmers’ confidence. That likely encouraged some spending that had a flow-on effect for the rest of the regional economy. “But it’s a fragile confidence, farmers face an uncertain future and there’s a lot that could upset that.” Farmers were concerned about factors such as rising compliance costs, but their most pressing concern was a labour shortage. Holdaway said other sectors had the same struggle thanks to the pandemic and a relatively low unemployment rate.