Today’s the day New Zealand’s landmark free-trade agreement with India enters into force.
The deal creates new opportunities for our exporters with one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.
Almost 57% of our existing trade can now enter India duty-free, and over time tariffs will be reduced or removed for 95% of our exports.
Tariffs are being eliminated on sheep meat, wool, coal, and more than 95% of forestry products.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) independent chairman Nathan Guy told The Front Page that it is welcoming the removal of India’s 33% tariff on New Zealand sheepmeat.
“We have to establish this market and what it might be. Obviously, there are 700 million that are red meat eaters. There are 700 million vegetarians.
“So, wearing my special agriculture trade envoy hat, the products that are likely to win in the vegetable and fruit space are kiwifruit, apples, cherries, and the like.
“And on the red meat side, it’ll be lamb because they don’t really eat beef for religious reasons, a little bit up in the far north. So it’ll be mainly a lamb play, and we have to establish what the price point is, what they would like.
“I’ve just been up there for a couple of weeks. I had a lot of mutton curry with bones in the dish, so obviously there’s an opportunity there.
“I have been in five-star hotels like the Taj that are opening a hotel this week, and they are white tablecloth at the premium end, and they have a lot of high-net-worth individuals that are their clients.
“We have an opportunity to play at all levels through the supply chain,” he said.
Guy said that it was vital New Zealand learns “where we can play and do it well”.
“We’ve got growing demand in the US despite tariffs. China seems to be coming back on stream a bit, which is exciting, and they could take 98% of the sheep carcass if we wanted. Southeast Asia and then also gold-plated free-trade agreements with the EU and the UK.
“But India offers a unique opportunity from the top end, those white tablecloth hotels and restaurants, through to the curry market and everything in between.
“So it’s gonna take a while. They talk about India, you know, a short time in India is five to 10 years. You need to keep showing up, turning up, building those relationships, understanding the market, understanding the religious aspects, the culture, the history,” he said.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- A historic day for meat
- A long-term market play
- Next trade targets.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5pm. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.