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OPINION: Known for serious trade negotiations with global politicians, top NZ trade official Vangelis Vitalis also knows how to crack jokes.
He told this one at the recent DairyNZ Farmers Forum in Hamilton: A farmer found a bottle and he polished it and out pops a genie and says, "You've got two wishes". The farmer asks, "don't you normally give three". Yeah, but budget cuts, genie replies. So, the farmer answers, "Um, what I'd really like is, I don't like flying, and I'd like to have a motorway built all the way from New Zealand, all the way to Hawaii." The genie looks at him and says, "Look, that's just impossible - so ridiculously impossible. What's the second wish?"
The farmer says, "oh, okay. I'd like someone to explain to me international trade policy." And the genie looks at him and says, "Um, about that motorway, two lanes or four?"
The New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement concluded in December is "a significant step toward unlocking one of the world's largest and fastest growing consumer markets", says New Zealand Winegrowers Chief Executive Philip Gregan.
Trade is important to our industry, whether it’s because 90% of our wine sales are in international markets, because of the international tourists who spend money at our cellar doors, or because of the equipment we source from overseas to operate our wineries and vineyards.
Leading trade analyst Stephen Jacobi has rubbished claims that New Zealand could have got a better free trade deal with India if it had prolonged the negotiations.
Additional tariffs introduced by the Chinese Government last month on beef imports should favour New Zealand farmers and exporters.
When it comes to international trade, politicians from all sides of the aisle are united, says Labour's trade spokesman Damien O'Connor.
Agrisea NZ has appointed Craig Hudson as it's new chief growth officer.
State farmer Landcorp, trading as Pamu, is a forecasting a full-year net profit of around $100 million.
Tony Aitken, chief executive of Ruralco, has been awarded the Excellence in Business Leadership Award at the ANZ Business of the Year Awards.
Global trade has been thrown into another bout of uncertainty following the overnight ruling by US Supreme Court, striking down President Donald Trump's decision to impose additional tariffs on trading partners.
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill have been lifted.
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.
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