increase font size
NZ’s agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen.
New Zealand primary produce exporters’ concerns continue rising about the confusion in the British parliament over Brexit.
NZ’s agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen says given the possibility of a no-deal, exporters are making contingency plans for such an event. But they also still hope a deal will be agreed so they won’t have to trigger plans for a no-deal.
The whole thing is a terrible mess, Petersen told Rural News last week.
“The worrying thing for me is the inability to get an agreement across the UK parliament.... But because they have voted against a no-deal scenario I think they will hold pretty strong.
“I have always argued that, in the end, they would do a deal because it would be economically bad for both the UK and the EU not to do a deal; the costs on both sides would be too great.”
According to Petersen, the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, is clever in saying there is only one deal on the table, and given that parliament has voted against a no-deal the only alternative is not to leave the EU.
“I wonder if that is going to start to shake the Brexiteers and make them think ‘crikey this thing may never happen now’. That seems to be the argument she is running.
“I also think the chances of a people’s vote or second referendum are very low. No one would want to put the UK through that horrible process – it’s too divisive.”
Petersen believes that in the end Conservative Party members will fall into line behind Theresa May because the last thing they would want is an election and the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister.
While the shenanigans continues in the British parliament, NZ companies are working out what changes they may need to make when Britain finally leaves the EU.
Petersen notes that some are looking at having a stronger presence in continental Europe and moving some staff from London to Brussels, and to Amsterdam where Fonterra is based. Some companies have registered new offices in Europe.
“Where they register these offices will depend a lot on their customer base and key ports of entry to Europe such as Rotterdam in Holland and Antwerp in Belgium.”
Petersen believes any changes brought about by Brexit are unlikely to result in more NZ staff being employed by exporters to Europe.
OPINION: New economic modelling confirms what many of us in Hawke's Bay have long understood - getting water security right for this region is one of the most important decisions we face as a community. Not just for farmers, but for everyone who lives, works and builds a future here.
Scales Corporation has today reported its results for the first half of the 2025 financial year, revealing what it says are outstanding results from its horticulture and logistics divisions.
Former special agricultural trade envoy Mike Petersen says meat exporters are going to have to be nimble and agile to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise in the chaos of the tariff crisis.
Be ready to be nimble. That's the message to New Zealand primary exporters from international trade expert, company director and farmer Mike Petersen.
Mike Petersen is one person who's closely monitoring the progress of the FTA with the EU.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.
A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…
OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.…
