increase font size
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters meeting his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during a visit to New Delhi.
This past week has seen another round of negotiations between India and New Zealand to produce a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
A team of NZ officials from several government departments, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), have been in Delhi for talks with their Indian counterparts. These talks are between officials only and no politicians have been involved in the negotiations.
This latest round of talks is part of the ongoing process to reach agreement on an FTA. Every month there are four or five days of 'virtual' negotiations, followed up by face-to-face meetings between the two parties.
The FTA consists of 19 chapters or separate parts and is identical in structure to other FTAs that NZ has secured. The focus ranges from issues around rules, phytosanitary standards, a chapter on composition, services and, of course, trade.
While NZ is pressing for dairy to be included in the FTA, the chances of this are nil, and we are not being singled out in this regard. Britain and Australia, who have FTAs with India, also had dairy excluded from their respective agreements.
A couple of issues on the trade side that NZ is pushing hard on are apples and honey. Currently, India imposes a 50% tariff on apples which limits our ability to access that market. While India does produce apples, they are of course seasonal and what the NZ negotiators are trying to do is convince the Indians to allow NZ fruit in only when the local supply dries up.
The NZ position is that having apples on the market for 12 months of the year ensures that consumers have continuous supply which makes good marketing sense.
What NZ is saying is we will fill that gap in local supply and be gone when Indian fruit come on the market. This is an argument that we have successfully pursued with other primary products in the Northern Hemisphere.
The other issue is honey, and NZ is again trying to get access for manuka honey which has a high price point, well above the local produce.
The FTA with India is seen as a high priority for our government and it's proceeding at pace. The stakes are high. Over the past couple of weeks, NZ will have had about 15 people in Delhi at various stages of this latest round of talks. It's believed India will likely have double that number of people.
At the same time, the political tempo is being kept up with Trade Minister Todd McClay making regular trips to India along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon there in March and Foreign Minister Winston Peters there some weeks ago.
Just a matter of hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic trip to New Zealand, the political doors in India swung wide open for Associate Minister of Agriculture, Mark Patterson, who was there to help promote our high-quality coarse wool.
OPINION: After all the criticism that Winston Peters leveled at the India/NZ FTA, it seemed just a trifle ironic to the Hound that the first NZ politician to visit India after Prime Minister Modi's visit was a member of the Ewe Zealand First party.
OPINION: All eyes are on the Government as Waikato farmers seek urgent help to fend off the controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1), designed to manage nutrient discharges into waterways in the region.
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson says his party – NZ First - isn’t opposed to the “trade element” of a free trade deal with India.
Eighteen months ago, when negotiations for a free trade deal with India were announced, New Zealand apple growers expressed their desire to be part of the deal.
A Palmerston North shearer has been sentenced to six months' community detention and 12 months' supervision after being found to have physically abused three lambs while shearing them.
Power Farming has launched a joint venture in Southland.
Food rescue charity Meet the Need has released its 2025/26 Impact Report, revealing a record year of growth alongside a stark warning: demand for food support across New Zealand is rising faster than supply can keep up.
As we move into the second half of 2026, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that Year-to-Date figures ending June 30 saw new tractor deliveries hitting 1,386 units or 10.7% ahead of the same period in 2025.
The avocado sector is entering the new season with a larger crop and positive market opportunities.
New Zealand growers have always adapted to changing conditions, but one challenge is steadily gaining ground across the horticulture sector: resistance.
OPINION: The Irish dairy sector is facing a new dilemma - maintaining year-round fresh milk supplies.
OPINION: Could beef cows play an increasingly important role in improving profitability and resilience on hill country farms?
