Red line on dairy
OPINION: As India negotiates to open its borders to more global products, dairy is proving a sticky issue.
Dairy industry representatives are joining Primary Industries Minister David Carter as he visits India to promote trade relations.
"India is a rapidly rising player in the Asia-Pacific region and New Zealand is keen to develop stronger economic and agricultural ties," Carter says. The Minister will also travel to Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
In India, Carter will hold discussions with the Agriculture and Trade Ministers and hold a series of primary industry meetings. He will also be joined by leading representatives of New Zealand's dairy, meat, horticulture and agri-tech sectors.
"These meetings further strengthen the New Zealand-India bilateral relationship and give our two countries the opportunity to canvass a range of primary industries issues," says Carter.
"India is one of our top trade negotiating priorities. A successful Free Trade Agreement will help expand businesses and create jobs."
During the Minister's visit to Indonesia, he will open the inaugural Joint Working Group on Agriculture in Jakarta and hold a series of trade and agriculture meetings.
"Indonesia is our 10th-largest export market, but there is a lot of room to expand this trade and to further develop the relationship between our two countries."
Trade and agricultural opportunities will also be top of the agenda during Carter's visit to Sri Lanka.
The minister left this morning.
OPINION: The past few weeks have been tough on farms across the North Island: floods and storms have caused damage and disruption to families and businesses.
European dairy giant Arla Foods celebrated its 25th anniversary as a cross-border, farmer-owned co-operative with a solid half-year result.
The sale of Fonterra’s global consumer and related businesses is expected to be completed within two months.
Fonterra is boosting its butter production capacity to meet growing demand.
For the most part, dairy farmers in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti and the Manawatu appear to have not been too badly affected by recent storms across the upper North Island.
South Island dairy production is up on last year despite an unusually wet, dull and stormy summer, says DairyNZ lower South Island regional manager Jared Stockman.
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