July 11, 2011

New Zealand beef exporters eye Japan

New Zealand's beef exporters are keeping an eye on potential trade boost from an expanded Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement.

Japan is not yet a party to those negotiations, but it has signalled its interest, said Beef and Lamb NZ chairman, Mike Petersen, who is attending the Japan-New Zealand partnership forum.

"If Japan was to join the TPP, this would certainly expand trade opportunities for our two countries within the Asia Pacific region," he said, adding that there were "real opportunities" in this region for New Zealand sheep and beef farmers.

In the past year, New Zealand exported 31,584 tonnes of beef to Japan and 7754 tonnes of sheepmeat.

While in Japan, Mr Petersen will talk to distributors, retailers and businesses in the food service sector, and will also cook New Zealand beef on a barbecue for Japanese people displaced by the March earthquake and tsunami.

Earlier this year, Beef and Lamb NZ's Japan market manager, John Hundleby, hosted two massive barbecues serving 400kg of New Zealand steak to people at two evacuation centres in Japan's worst-affected Tohoku region. Many of the survivors had not eaten meat for weeks.

With both countries in recovery mode since devastating earthquakes, common interests had been strengthened and there was a realisation that business must play a leading role in moving Japan and New Zealand forward, Mr Petersen said.