Wednesday, 30 May 2018 09:55

EU/NZ trade deal will benefit dairy

Written by  Peter Burke
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom is heading to NZ next month. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom is heading to NZ next month.

Dairy products will be high on the agenda when New Zealand and the European Union begin formal negotiations next month on a free trade agreement (FTA).

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will attend a formal launch of negotiations in NZ, understood to be starting with a meeting with Trade Minister David Parker about June 20 to set the agenda and define the process.

Malmstrom and EU negotiators will meet officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) during her two-day stay.

In July MFAT trade negotiators will go to Brussels to start the detailed formal negotiations.

Dairy News understands that a high priority for the NZ negotiators will be improved access and lower tariffs for our dairy exports to the EU.

The chief executive of the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ), Kimberly Crewther, says the talks will be a milestone that will “get us around the table to begin the negotiations”. 

“DCANZ welcomes the EU’s decision to move forward with negotiating a free trade deal with NZ. We thank the Government and officials for their hard work and we hope negotiations commence in a timely, comprehensive and ambitious way.”

Crewther says NZ’s exports to the EU are highly restricted by market access barriers.  Even the in-quota tariff on butter is 700 euros per tonne, meaning that in 2017 only 9000 of the two million tonnes of butter consumed in the EU was imported. 

“Maintaining this level of protection does not make sense when the EU is a competitive dairy exporter in its own right, and there is significant two-way investment between the NZ and  EU dairy industries.  

“DCANZ is placing priority on NZ and the EU reaching a high-quality trade agreement that includes the elimination of all existing tariff barriers.” Eliminating tariffs will allow European customers to choose NZ products and ensure that our farmers and dairy processors get the fair value of those goods.”  

Two year work ahead

Trade minister David Parker says he looks forward to welcoming Commissioner Cecilia Malmström to NZ. 

He shares her view that the EU and NZ are already closely aligned in values and an open, global outlook. This opens the way for a free trade deal with a massive economy that will boost NZ jobs and incomes.

“These negotiations offer significant economic gains for NZ and the EU. They are an example of like-minded countries working together at a time when the world faces a rising tide of protectionism. 

“The EU is our third largest trading partner, with two-way trade worth more than $20 billion. Even excluding the UK, our trade with the EU is worth about $16 billion annually,” he says.

Parker says at the start of negotiations the Government will outline our negotiating priorities.

The FTA is expected to take about two years to finalise.

More like this

NZ dairy industry needs FTAs quickly

OPINION: New Zealand's dairy exports have been the backbone of the country's economy for several decades, and exports remain buoyant despite pandemic-era disruptions and impending downturns in East Asia in the next few years.

EU tractor sales hit the brakes

According to numbers sourced from national authorities, 151,800 tractors were registered across Europe in 2023, of which 26,200 tractors (17%) were 37kW (50 hp) and under and 131,900 (83%) were 38kW and above.

Editorial: Passage to India

OPINION: Even before the National-led coalition came into power, India was very much at the fore of its trade agenda.

Papal visit

OPINION: European farmers are going to extreme lengths to have their message heard.

Featured

Celebrations at Muller Station

More than 260 people gathered at Muller Station in Marlborough recently to celebrate the 2024 Westpac + OsGro Marlborough Farmer of the Year winner.

New insights into rural fire risk

New student research from the University of Canterbury in partnership with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) could improve knowledge surrounding the risk of wildfire.

Embrace mechanical weeding now

Mechanical weeding is exploding in Europe because increasing resistance means they have "run out of herbicide", says Canterbury agronomist Charles Merfield.

China still a good option

The ongoing rise of the Chinese middle class will drag up demand for New Zealand products there in the future.

UAE FTA signed

New Zealand’s free trade deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has now been signed.

National

Farm Source turns 10!

Hundreds of Fonterra farmers visited their local Farm Source store on November 29 to help celebrate the rural service trader's…

Machinery & Products

A JAC for all trades

While the New Zealand ute market is dominated by three main players, “disruptors” are never too far away.

Pushing the boundaries

Can-Am is pushing the boundaries of performance with its Outlander line-up of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) with the launch of the…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Milking fish

OPINION: It could be cod on your cornflakes and sardines in your smoothie if food innovators in Indonesia have their…

Seaweed the hero?

OPINION: A new study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to some existing evidence about…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter