Horticulture Welcomes TPP Signing
New Zealand’s peak body for commercial fruit and vegetable growers, Horticulture New Zealand, has welcomed the official
New Zealand signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement today.
Horticulture is New Zealand’s fourth largest export earner, sending fresh and processed products to more than 120
countries, valued at more than $2.5 billion every year.
The estimated saving for nine key product lines (kiwifruit, apples, avocado, buttercup squash, capsicum, cherries,
onions, potatoes and vegetable juices) is just over $25 million a year for the growers now exporting these products to
Japan, the USA and Vietnam.
The most critical result in the deal for New Zealand horticulture exporters is the reduction of tariffs to Japan. Japan
is New Zealand horticulture’s third largest market.
“The reduction and eventual removal of these tariffs doesn’t just mean savings for growers exporting now, but it means
the products they export in the future will be more competitively priced and able to challenge the offerings from other
countries,” HortNZ chief executive Mike Chapman says.
“Market access is an issue that never goes away for horticulture. So an agreement like this is overwhelmingly welcomed
by growers, who can now be more confident about the markets they supply and can continue to plan for growth in their
businesses.”
ENDS