The New Zealand horticulture industry is welcoming the early implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom. The FTA should give hope to fruit and vegetable exporters in trying times.
According to voxy.co.nz, HortNZ chief executive, Nadine Tunley: ‘Growers have been under the pump ever since Covid struck, and rampant cost increases and a succession of adverse weather events have just added to this pressure. Early adoption of the FTA with the UK provides hope for the future. We thank Government officials in New Zealand and the UK for bringing implementation of the agreement forward, and delivering on Fit for A Better World - a multi-year project to accelerate the New Zealand primary industry’s economic potential.’
PM Hipkins talks about potential GDP growth
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says the fast-tracked free trade agreement with the UK has the potential to grow New Zealand’s GDP by $1 billion a year.
The agreement, signed in March 2022, will mean 69% of current exports will be tariff-free from the first day it is in force. The remaining exports, which include fresh apple, butter and cheese, and beef and sheep meat, will progressively become tariff-free over 15 years.
Trade Minister Damien O’Connor, speaking at Parliament on Friday, said diary and meat exporters had “effectively been locked out of this market for 50 years.
“Ultimately it will be up to the exporters to take up these opportunities. This is an incredible opportunity for them at a time of significant global economic stress, but this takes us a big step forward.”
Source: stuff.co.nz