Tuesday, 05 December 2023 09:55

Trade priorities revealed

Written by  Peter Burke
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay. Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay.

As Trade Minister, Todd McClay says his number one priority will be a focus on trade with India.

He'll be getting there quickly so he can meet with his counterpart and get the conversation going again. McClay says NZ is going to invest heavily in the Indian relationship and claims the effort put into developing the Indian relationship over the past six years has been underwhelming and underdone.

"I want to get up there and tell them we see them as partners," he told Rural News.

"Then I want to get up to the Middle East, the UAE and GCC - the Gulf Cooperation Councl which brings together six Arab countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates."

Another area of focus for McClay is immigration settings, which many primary sector groups are deeply unhappy about. This includes the slowness of processing visa applications and some of the actual rules as to how many and who is allowed into NZ to fill important roles at the right time. He says Immigration Minister, Erica Stanford, will be on to this task.

Also of concern to the wider rural sector is the state of NZ's infrastructure - in particular roads. McClay syas there has been a lack of investment in roading over the past six years.

He says good infrastructure increases productivity and leads to profitable businesses. He says good infrastructure also means getting goods to market faster and more efficiently.

"Me and my colleagues will be looking closely at this area. We want to be judged on the number of roads built, not the number of announcements made," he says.

Who Else Is Involved In The Ag Sector?

There are now more farmers in the National-led coalition.

This will see a number of other people - in and outside cabinet - who will be working closely alongside Todd McClay.

Penny Simmonds, who is the new Minister for the Environment and also Tertiary Education, will have a significant impact on the ag sector. Also, Erica Stanford as Immigration Minister, Chris Bishop with Infrastructure, and Dr Shane Reti as Minister of Health and probably Simeon Brown with the Local Government portfolio.

Meanwhile, Nicola Grigg is Associate Minister of Agriculture with special responsibility for Horticulture and Minister of State for Trade.

First term ACT MP Andrew Hoggard is an Associate Minister for Agriculture with responsibility for biosecurity, food safety, animal welfare, skills and is also associate Minister for the Environment. Mark Patterson from NZ First has also scored an Associate Ag role - namely for Rural Communities.

More like this

NZ seeks certainty on US tariff, says McClay

Trade Minister Todd McClay says his officials plan to meet their US counterparts every month from now on to better understand how the 15% tariff issue there will play out, and try and get some certainty there for our exporters about the future.

Farmers urged to prepare as heavy rain looms

With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.

Red line on dairy

OPINION: As India negotiates to open its borders to more global products, dairy is proving a sticky issue.

Featured

'One more push' to eliminate FE

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.

Winston Peters questions Fonterra divestment plan

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.

Cyclone Gabrielle lessons from Young Grower of the Year

If there was a silver lining in the tragedy that was Cyclone Gabrielle, for New Zealand Young Grower of the Year, Grace Fulford, it was the tremendous sense of community and seeing first-hand what good leadership looks like.

National

Machinery & Products

Disc mower range gets upgrade

Kuhn has announced an expansion of its range of disc mowers, distributed by Norwood in New Zealand, with the addition…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Quid prod quo?

OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…

Deadwood

OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter