Ōpōtiki grower wins 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award
Brett Wotton, an Eastern Bay of Plenty kiwifruit grower and harvest contractor, has won the 2025 Kiwifruit Innovation Award for his work to support lifting fruit quality across the industry.
The TPP will generate significant value for the New Zealand kiwifruit industry, says marketer Zespri.
The agreement will eliminate tariffs on kiwifruit exports in all 12 Asia-Pacific nations.
The other countries in the agreement – Brunei, Chile, Singapore, USA, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada – either do not have tariffs on kiwifruit, have existing free trade agreements with NZ or do not currently import NZ kiwifruit.
Zespri chief executive Lain Jager says the immediate impact will be in Japan, the industry's largest market.
In 2014, the industry paid over $15 million in tariffs into Japan.
"If this tariff relief was passed straight through to New Zealand growers, it would equate to savings of over $1000 for every hectare of kiwifruit grown in New Zealand." say Jager.
Adding, "This tariff elimination will also benefit Japanese consumers by supporting our competitiveness against other fruit in Japan."
Jager says he welcomes further details of the Agreement and he hopes these will help to balance some of the concerns that have surrounded the negotiations.
"The reality is that New Zealand is a small nation reliant on exporting to earn our way in the world and these agreements are vital to our future prosperity as a nation," says Jager.
"This Agreement follows recent successes by the government of New Zealand in achieving tariff elimination through agreements with Korea and Taiwan, and we are grateful for the support of our government in encouraging trade."
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All eyes are on milk production in New Zealand and its impact on global dairy prices in the coming months.
Claims that some Southland farmers were invoiced up to $4000 for winter grazing compliance checks despite not breaching rules are being rejected by Environment Southland.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
From 1 October, new livestock movement restrictions will be introduced in parts of Central Otago dealing with infected possums spreading bovine TB to livestock.
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