Thursday, 01 September 2022 13:15

Chinese whispers

Written by The Hound

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

OPINION: This old mutt understands that MPI and agri industr bodies had to do a fair bit of scrambling to shoot down rumours circulating about China shutting its borders to NZ and Australian products over concerns about foot-and-mouth disease.

The Australian Financial Review quoted a Chinese news report that Beijing had announced a temporary suspension of agricultural imports from both countries.

"We are aware of the rumour. There does not appear to be anything behind it," the Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ) said in statement.

Meanwhile, a representative from the meat sector described the claims as a "false alarm".

MPI also closed ranks with the industry with a spokesperson saying: "New Zealand exports to China are continuing as normal."

It is good to see a quick, solid and strong response from these outfits.

More like this

MPI’s Diana Reaich: Building global trade relationships

Relationships are key to opening new trading opportunities and dealing with some of the rules that countries impose that impede the free flow of trade.

Wrong focus

OPINION: Your old mate reckons townie Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Workplace (or is it Woke Place) Relations is now showing how underemployed she is as a minister by initiating an investigation into whether young children should be banned from collecting eggs on farms and feeding animals.

Burn the village

OPINION: There's an infamous term coined by a US general during the Vietnam war, specifically in reference to the battle of Ben Tre: "We had to burn the village to save it."

Purist problem

OPINION: The sudden departure of Jim Ward, manager of Molesworth Station for 24 years, highlighted some major dysfunction in the way conservation estate is managed in this country - the biggest problem, as the Hound sees it, being idealogues who harp on about "taonga" and use all means possible to block sensible commercial operations on conservation land.

Drill baby, drill!

OPINION: While the destruction of NZ's oil and gas industry by Jacinda Ardern's band of merry vandals was virtue signalling on a heroic scale - producing no environmental benefit whatsoever - the politician vowing to make that industry whole again, Shane Jones, is not above a bit of virtue signalling of his own.