Thursday, 26 March 2015 14:54

Red meat sector welcomes Korea FTA

Written by 

The free trade agreement with Korea is critical for New Zealand sheep and beef farmers and meet exporters, says Beef + Lamb NZ chairman James Parsons.

 

It keeps us competitive in this key market, says Parsons.

The free trade agreement (FTA) will be a significant step towards reducing the overall amount of tariffs paid on New Zealand red meat exports, says both Parsons and the Meat Industry Association (MIA).

Trade Minister Tim Groser signed this week the New Zealand Korea FTA with his Korean counterpart.

The New Zealand sheep and beef sector is worth $8.5 billion, with close to 90% exported, on which we paid $318 million of tariffs in 2013. A significant proportion of those tariffs were paid in Korea ($52m) – where applied tariffs on our beef exports are 40%.

Korea is New Zealand's fourth-largest beef market by volume, taking nearly $125 million of beef exports last year. However, trade volumes have dropped significantly in recent years, partly due to competitors such as the United States, and more recently Australia and Canada, having a tariff advantage through their FTAs with Korea.

"These negotiations were tough, and credit must go to our government negotiators and to Trade Minister Groser for the excellent job they did in getting this deal done" said MIA chairman Bill Falconer.

B+LNZ and MIA work together to improve access for sheep and beef products to overseas markets, including by providing in-depth analysis in support of the Government's FTA negotiation efforts.

More like this

Getting sheep shape at Pyramid Farm

The vineyards at Pyramid Farm in Marlborough’s Avon Valley have never been run of the mill, with plantings that follow the natural contours of the land, 250 metres above sea level.

Red meat rebound

The red meat sector is poised for a strong rebound this season, with export receipts forecast to top $10 billion and farm profitability to almost double.

Featured

Big return on a small investment

Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.

Editorial: Sensible move

OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Overbearing?

OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…

Foot-in-mouth

OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter