increase font size
Trade Minister Todd McClay
OPINION: The dairy industry will be a major beneficiary of a new free trade deal between NZ and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
The council, comprising some of the world's wealthiest countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - already buy $1.8 billion worth of NZ dairy products. This makes the GCC region our second-largest dairy market after China. New Zealand and GCC trade is worth over $3 billion annually, with New Zealand exporting $2.6 billion in the year to June 2024.
The New Zealand Government - in particular Trade Minister Todd McClay - deserves a pat on the back for this achievement. Previous NZ governments must also be acknowledged for laying the foundation for the trade deal. It delivers on an 18 year-long ambition for New Zealand to bag this high-quality trade deal in the Middle East.
This is the highest quality deal the GCC has done to date and its first with a major agricultural exporter. It delivers duty-free access for 99% of New Zealand's exports over 10 years and when combined with our recently concluded NZ-UAE CEPA, 51% of our exports to the region will be tariff-free from day one.
Dairy processors welcome this deal along with the other recent deal between NZ and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Locking in elimination of the already low tariffs on key dairy products into this highly valuable market provides important commercial certainty for dairy exporters, according to the Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ).
It wants the Government to maintain momentum and ambition to bring down barriers with other negotiating partners, including upgrading existing trade agreements that have not yet secured dairy tariff elimination. This will ensure continuing high quality and high value markets for our world-class dairy products.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says his officials plan to meet their US counterparts every month from now on to better understand how the 15% tariff issue there will play out, and try and get some certainty there for our exporters about the future.
New Zealand avocado growers have received a major boost by securing a collective FernMark Licence for their exports.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says the US tariff decision appears to be based on a calculation of trade deficits, with countries running a surplus with the US moved to the higher rate.
OPINION: The Government has been seeking industry feedback on its proposed amendments to a range of Resource Management Act (RMA) national direction instruments.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
