Wednesday, 14 August 2024 12:55

Many ways to do trade - Grigg

Written by  Peter Burke
Associate Trade Minister Nicola Grigg. Associate Trade Minister Nicola Grigg.

There are massive market opportunities for the horticulture sector in southeast Asia, according to Nicola Grigg, the Associate Minister for Horticulture and also Minister of State for Trade, with a focus on southeast Asia.

She's just back in Parliament after six months on maternity leave but is quickly setting her sights on how to open new markets and expand others for our booming horticulture sector.

To that end she is hoping to visit Laos in the coming months to assess market opportunities for NZ.

She says this is part of her and the Government's strategy of getting on planes and meeting people in key target countries at all levels to build relationships that will lead to trade. She points to the recent trip by Prime Minister Luxon to the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia, and the fact that Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters are on a plane every couple of weeks. All this is about relationship building.

While there is much talk that the golden days of ambitious, comprehensive FTAs such as the one with the UK are over, Grigg believes there are other ways and forums that can produce good outcomes for NZ.

For example, she says there are sectoral relationships and multilateral relationships such as the CPTPP which other nations are excited about joining, and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) which NZ is working on.

"While an FTA is a dream outcome, there are many other ways to do trade," she told Rural News.

As far as India is concerned, Grigg says there is a premise that it's not worth chasing an FTA because of dairy.

"But I say that's rubbish. We have kiwifruit, apples, education services, genetics and whole range of other goods and services going there and we can do trade with India," she says.

But to get deals, Grigg says NZ can't wait for countries to come knocking at the bottom of the Pacific, we need to be constantly banging on doors of potential trading partners.

More like this

Editorial: Getting the RMA overhaul right

OPINION: Making it easier to get things done while protecting the environment - that's the Government's promise when it comes to the overhaul of the problematic Resource Management Act (RMA).

Eating more fruit and veg 'helps the economy'

A new international study serves as a stark warning for New Zealanders: our health and wellbeing are in our hands, and increasing our intake of fruit and vegetables is a key step to reducing the pressure on our healthcare system.

Featured

Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB

New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.

Editorial: Making wool great again

OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.

National

Machinery & Products

Farmer-led group buys Novag

While the name and technology remain unchanged and new machines will continue to carry the Novag name, all the assets,…

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Make it 1000%!

OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…

Own goal

OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter