December 10, 2013

 
New Zealand meat industry seeks speedy conclusion to Korea FTA
 

New Zealand's Meat Industry Association (MIA) and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) are requesting that the country's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with Korea be concluded immediately.

Concluding negotiations quickly is vital. Korea finalised FTA negotiations with Australia last week, and, on top of the Korea-US FTA that was signed in 2012, this has the potential to place New Zealand exporters at a significant disadvantage in the near future, the two organisations say.

Due to Korea's imposition of 40% tariffs on beef imports, Zealand producers incurred around US$48 million in 2012. Korean tariffs on other products like prepared meats can be as high as 72%.

New Zealand beef producers currently face tariffs that are 5.3% more than their US competitors, and that disadvantage will increase to 8% in 2014. The newly-concluded Australia-Korea FTA will mean that Australian producers will soon have a similar advantage, making New Zealand products relatively less affordable for Korean consumers.

"Without an FTA, New Zealand producers will find it hard to maintain a competitive position in Korea. With heavy demand for New Zealand meat from other markets, exporters may be forced to leave Korea entirely," MIA Chairman Bill Falconer said.

The US and Australian FTAs both involve elimination of Korea's tariffs on beef in 15 year time frames. Australian and US products currently make up 90% of Korean beef imports.

B+LNZ Chairman Mike Petersen said it was important for New Zealand to keep up with other meat exporting countries in terms of market access conditions.