Prime Minister Key in Korea for trade negotiations

Free trade negotiations seem to be a regular occurrence these days, as individual countries negotiate for their share of world trade.

NZ trading partners have changed dramatically over the last 10 years, with now Asia becoming more and more an important destination for our agricultural products. With Korean machinery and students for education coming into this country, a long term relationship contract would seem important.

The Deer Industry is also heavily involved in watching the outcomes of negotiations, as velvet is the main destination of that product, and returns are restricted by heavy tariffs.

The 2nd Korea NZ Business Roundtable takes place in Seoul this week and NZ sheep and beef farmers will be strongly represented. Beef + Lamb NZ Chairman, Mike Petersen is attending Tuesday’s roundtable, along with senior business leaders from both Korea and NZ. Prime Minister John Key is giving the keynote address.
 
It is hoped the discussions will strengthen business relationships between Korea and NZ, in support of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations currently underway. Mr Petersen will be using the opportunity to highlight to participants that grass-fed New Zealand beef and lamb are not a competitive threat to the Korean beef industry. 
 
 
Korea is NZ's second largest beef market by volume and a key market for co-products. New Zealand’s exports to Korea were worth NZ$153m in 2009. Based on this figure, phasing out tariffs on beef and lamb products – through an FTA – would eliminate about NZ$59m annually.

With an annual bilateral trade volume worth some 1.8 billion US dollars, Korea has become the seventh largest market mainly for NZ's food produce including beef, fruits and dairy. Korean businesses in automobile, electronics and machinery, on the other hand, have found a lucrative market in the Pacific island nation.