Growers welcome FTA deal

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers president Neil Trebilco said cutting the tariff was big news to growers all over the country.

Zespri and local kiwifruit growers have welcomed New Zealand's new Free Trade Agreement deal with South Korea - the country's most expensive trading partner.

Prime Minister John Key announced the agreement with Korea's President Park Geun-hye after the two met in Brisbane on the sidelines of the G20 Summit - and President Park made it clear it was partly a reward for New Zealand's role in the Korean War.

Zespri growers have paid about $20million in tariffs into their markets over the past year, Zespri chief executive Lain Jager said. "It is hugely satisfying that the industry can focus on building sales in the South Korean market, which will benefit both New Zealand and South Korean growers, as well as South Korean consumers.

"With volumes of our new SunGold variety increasing to over 50 million trays by 2018, this gives us a strong platform to build sales in this market."

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers president Neil Trebilco said cutting the tariff was great news for growers. "The duty we pay [to South Korea] is the highest in any market that we have around the world and it does cost growers a lot of money." New Zealand's closest competitor for kiwifruit was Chile, which did not have duty tariff at all, he said. "[The duty] had eroded our competitiveness in our market and, therefore, our market share."

Local kiwifruit grower Russell West said the FTA was huge news for the industry.

"The tariffs we pay there are quite big at the moment. It needs to come down from where it is and once you start on a thing like this, every year will tick off another milestone."

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges said there were positive outcomes for agricultural exports, and especially for kiwifruit growers after the announcement. "New Zealand is the largest supplier of kiwifruit to Korea and in the year ending June 2014, New Zealand exported over $44million worth of kiwifruit to Korea. "Based on this trade, removing the tariff equals a $20million benefit to the industry and is the equivalent of putting $8500 in the pockets of the average kiwifruit grower every year."

He said the industry had bounced back strongly since the Psa bacterium crisis. "The New Zealand-Korea Free Trade Agreement will be a real boost to an industry that is now focused on the future and getting on with the job." The 45 per cent tariff on kiwifruit would be remitted five years from when the agreement comes into force, he said.