Businesses are such a valuable asset in any local community and we recognise the efforts our businesses bring to our small town to make our visitors feel welcome. We are proud of the entrepreneurs, home-grown businesses, locally made products and companies that add so much value and consistently support our events. 

By business type, the largest industry sectors in the South Waikato district are agriculture, forestry and fishing (23.9%), manufacturing (17.5%) and education and training (9.9%). Retail trade represents 7.7% of industry. 

For Putāruru specifically, the main industry is timber handling and processing, water related industry and farming. Dairying, with some sheep raising, is the main farming activity in the surrounding area. Putāruru has a connection with the timber industry, there are two saw mills in Putāruru, being Pine and Kiwi Lumber. 

The South Waikato District is currently experiencing a strong economic upswing, with GDP growth in the year 2017 at 4.3% up from just a 1.3% a year earlier and well above the national average of 2.8%.  In 2017, the South Waikato District economy produced a total of $1,000m in GDP, through approximately 2,274 businesses and providing employment to 9,480 full time equivalents.

(Resource: South Waikato Council)