Primary Industries Minister departs for Iran and the United Arab Emirates today on a trip to build closer trading relationships. “Iran has been an important trading partner for New Zealand in the past and there is great opportunity to increase our two-way trade. This is an exciting step for New Zealand companies who are working with importers in Iran,” says Mr Guy. “This will be the third ministerial visit to Iran in 12 months and reflects the growing importance of this relationship. This is an opportunity to strengthen our agricultural relationship, following the signing of an Agricultural Cooperation Arrangement in…

Trade Minister Todd McClay says he is extremely confident New Zealand has a strong case following Indonesia's decision to appeal a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling in favour of New Zealand beef and horticulture exports and says he expects Indonesia to meet their WTO obligations following the appeal. New Zealand and the United States brought a case against Indonesia disputing 18 agricultural non-tariff barriers. The WTO ruled in favour of NZ and the US on all 18 disputed point in December last year. “It is very common for WTO rulings of this nature to be appealed and we had expected…

The annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ talks have taken the cooperation between our two countries forward in a number of areas, Prime Minister Bill English says. Mr English met with Prime Minister Turnbull in Queenstown today to discuss common approaches to bilateral and international issues, including trade and science and innovation. Mr English also thanked Mr Turnbull for Australia’s offer of support for those fighting the fires on the Port Hills in Christchurch. “Australia is our closest friend and ally. “A friendship is never stronger than in times of need and New Zealand is very appreciative of the understanding Australians have…

With exporting a hot topic, it’s time for those in the industry to share their success stories with the rest of New Zealand.​Entries are now open to the Air New Zealand Cargo ExportNZ Awards 2017 – and Auckland and Waikato and judges are wanting to hear how exporters have triumphed over adversity to build a successful business. New Zealand is a trading nation and our exporters are vital to New Zealand’s economy, which has come under the spotlight with recent global events that indicate a move to more protectionist policies, says Catherine Lye, Regional Manager of ExportNZ Auckland, Waikato &…

Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit Mexico today to meet his counterpart, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and discuss the future of trade between our two countries. “Mexico is already our largest trading partner in Latin America, and there is huge scope to further advance our economies, boosting trade and investment, and working together more closely in the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr McClay says. This will be the Government’s first formal contact with Mexico since the United States withdrawal from the TPP agreement. “It is timely that we sit down and discuss how to move our trading relationship forward. I expect our…

Prime Minister Bill English has announced Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will make an official visit to New Zealand this week. Prime Minister Turnbull, Treasurer Scott Morrison and Industry Minister, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, arrive in Queenstown for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ meeting on Friday 17 February. New Zealand’s Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges will also join the meeting. “I am looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Turnbull to Queenstown. His visit continues the tradition of holding trans-Tasman Leaders’ meetings early in the year,” Mr English says. “This visit will be a good opportunity to…

SHANGHAI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to work together to support free trade and globalisation when they met in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, China's foreign ministry has said in a statement. The pair met on Thursday and discussed launching negotiations to upgrade an existing bilateral free trade agreement and cooperate in sectors such as infrastructure, tourism and judicial enforcement, said the statement published late on Thursday on the ministry's website. "Hand in hand, we should protect the international trade system, build the open economy, and try to…

Exporters Must Persuade Government to Start Backtracking. Russia’s ban on importing New Zealand beef on the grounds of discovering additives in it has in fact all the characteristics of a reprisal for participating in the United States-invoked embargo. New Zealand is viewed as an easy target as the Russians now start retaliating against those nations which supported the blockade. The embargo mainly involved the United States and the EU. But anxious to appease the United States New Zealand deliberately demonstrated “solidarity” with the US, in the words of former premier John Key. In return for this New Zealand took pole…

Trade Minister Todd McClay today welcomed the inaugural daily flight of Qatar Airways direct Auckland – Doha service at Auckland International Airport saying the world's longest flight was set to boost New Zealand trade and tourism. “Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the air link will continue to gain importance when New Zealand concludes a Free Trade Agreement with the GCC,” Mr McClay says. The new service is the world’s longest commercial flight, taking 17 hours and 30 minutes and covering a distance of 14,535 kilometres. “The new Auckland – Doha service will not only…

Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit Japan and Singapore this week to discuss regional trade issues with his ministerial counterparts. During his visit to Japan, which is the first stop, Mr McClay will meet with the Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Nobuteru Ishihara. “Japan is New Zealand’s fifth largest two-way trading partner, a significant source of foreign investment, and a key international partner in our efforts to liberalise trade in the Asia-Pacific region,” Minister McClay says. “We need to sit down and discuss the future of trade between our two countries and how we can best support regional economic…

New Zealand’s top two export commodities, meat and dairy, both fell by value in 2016, Statistics New Zealand said today. The total value of all export goods was $48.4 billion for the year ended December 2016, down $544 million from the previous year. This is the second annual fall in a row for exports. The latest annual total is $1.6 billion less than the high of the 2014 year. The biggest fall by value was for meat and edible offal, our second largest export group, with sales down $909 million to $5.9 billion. The fall in meat was driven by…