McClay ready for trade fight with Canada
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
The meat industry has a job to sell the value proposition of lamb, says Agriculture Minister Todd McClay.
Speaking to Rural News on the occasion of National Lamb Day, McClay says he doesn't necessarily believe that New Zealanders have gone off eating lamb, but says they need to be made more aware of how good NZ lamb is and that it's not hard to cook.
McClay says lamb is a high-quality product full of iron and there are plenty of places that people can go to find recipes to cook lamb - including YouTube. He says NZ has a great story to tell the world just how good our grass feed lamb is.
"Many years ago, when I lived in Brussels working for the European parliament, I'd buy a shoulder of NZ lamb and we'd invite friends over and have this for dinner. Afterwards they would rave about the flavour and they would want to know where it came from, because it was more flavoursome than the lamb they were used to - which was European," he says.
McClay says the reason is that NZ lamb is grass-fed, unlike European lamb.
The celebration of NZ lamb comes at time when the industry is having a rough time with low returns and high input costs. He notes the oversupply of Australian lamb on the market, along with a sluggish Chinese economy and other geopolitical issues are causing grief to farmers.
McClay says while the Government can do little about the problems in market, it is determined to tackle lowering the costs imposed on farmers by the previous government.
He says his focus will also be on opening new markets, getting more FTAs and, to do that, he says, plans will be revealed soon about more trade missions which will involve farmers as well as companies and officials.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
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