Tuesday, 20 October 2015 07:00

Yet another underarm

Written by  David Anderson
Mike Petersen. Mike Petersen.

Even with the ANZAC relationship dating back 100 years, it seems the lack of commitment by our Australian cousins cost New Zealand's dairy sector more meaningful gains from the recently concluded TPP negotiations.

NZ special agriculture envoy Mike Petersen told Rural News that if Australia had stood with New Zealand there would have been a much better dairy deal.

"Unfortunately the Aussies did not stand with us over dairy in Atlanta (where the TPP was concluded earlier this month). Their focus was on sugar, biologics and other matters," Petersen says. "If we'd had the Aussies onside, we'd have got a better dairy deal, but it was too hard with just us (NZ) against the combined and heavily protected dairy sectors of the US, Canada and Japan."

Despite the less-than-ideal outcome for dairy, Petersen, in Atlanta with the rest of the NZ negotiating team, believes the TPP has delivered an "outstanding" result for the NZ primary sector.

"It is an outstanding deal for New Zealand. We have basically gained free trade access for the majority of our primary sector products – with the exception of dairy and some beef – to 11 new markets with a population of 800 million or 40% of the world's trade.

"We now have access to 11 new markets tariff-free for fruit and veg, sheepmeat, seafood, wine and forestry, and the next best thing for beef."

Petersen says critics of the deal fail to recognise that the TPP has given NZ the equivalent of free trade deals with countries we could never have expected to sign up to bi-lateral deals.

"The US, Japan, Canada and Mexico would not be interested in doing a bilateral with a tiny country of 4.6 million people. They would ask, 'what's in it for us?', and they'd be right," he explains. "Through the TPP process we now have free access for all our primary products—with the exception of dairy and some beef – into these four markets and seven others."

Meanwhile, Petersen says it would have been untenable and economically stupid for NZ to walk away from the TPP.

"The TPP would have gone ahead without us – it would have been 11 countries instead of 12," he says.

More like this

Sharemilker completes the trifecta

The major winners in the 2024 West Coast/Top of the South Share Farmer of the Year award, Michael and Cheryl Shearer were happy to complete the trifecta.

LCAs tackle false narratives

The quest to measure, report and make sense of the energy that goes into food production has come a long way in the past 25 years.

Sustainability dominates dairy summit

To Kiwi ears, an international conference that talks about a "just and fair transition" to sustainable dairy sounds like a clarion call for better access to valuable markets. 'Just and fair' means more to the world than opening up borders to big exporters like NZ. Tim Fulton reports.

Featured

Better animal genetic gain system

A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.

SIDE 2025's new schedule, venue

Annual farmer gathering, the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE), is set to make history as it heads to Timaru for the first time.

Taranaki piggery goes solar

Installing 400 solar panels at their Taranaki piggery and cropping operation will have significant environmental, financial and animal welfare benefits for the Stanley family.

Editorial: Keep FTAs coming

OPINION: The dairy industry will  be a major beneficiary of a new free trade deal between NZ and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).

National

Food charity to hold online auction

Meat the Need, New Zealand’s dedicated charity delivering locally sourced protein meals to food-insecure communities, is launching an online National…

Machinery & Products

An ideal solution for larger farms

Designed specifically for large farms that want to drill with maximum flexibility, efficiency and power, the new Lemken Solitair ST…

Landpower increases its offering

Landpower and the Claas Harvest Centre network will launch the Claas Scorpion and Torion material handling solutions to the market…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Leaky waka

OPINION: Was the ASB Economic Weekly throwing shade on Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr when reporting on his speech in…

Know-it-alls

OPINION: A reader recently had a shot at the various armchair critics that she judged to be more than a…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter