But clearly our open trade policy and lack of protectionist tariffs mean we have plenty to gain on the upside of this deal.
Zespri growers paid about $20 million in tariffs last year, the kiwifruit company said in a statement which described the deal as "hugely satisfying".
The deal also offers a boost for wine exporters.
While exports to South Korea are only worth $2 million the removal of tariffs would provide a base for growth, said NZ Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan. "The negotiators have a achieved a great outcome for the wine industry," he said.
The deal was also welcomed by the Meat Industry Association yesterday. Korea is New Zealand's fourth biggest beef market by volume, worth about $110 million last year. But trade has been dropping because of the tariff advantage that US exporters have.
South Korea has traditionally been a highly protected economy but has been opening up through direct free trade deals.
It has a number of trade agreements giving preferential treatment to the likes of Chile, Singapore, India, ASEAN, the EU, the US and others. In fact, China and South Korea have also concluded a free trade agreement this month.
As Prime Minister John Key said, the deal puts us on a level playing field with our competitors.
On that basis we should back our globally successful agricultural exporters to drive strong growth into South Korea.
But beyond the immediately measurable impact of the tariff reductions there is now scope for much greater export growth as the success of our trade agreement with China shows.
The FTA will give New Zealand suppliers preferential access to the procurement process of South Korea central Government. This could be good news for big software system companies such as Datacom and Orion Health.
It is expected to put New Zealand businesses on a "better footing" with regard to public-private partnerships and could open opportunities for the likes of Fletcher Building and other construction and infrastructure players.
Obviously this is an area where we could see increased competition from Korean players looking to target New Zealand, although our Government already runs a highly open international tender process for most of its big projects.
South Korea is also this country's fourth-largest source of foreign students and seventh-largest source of overseas visitors.
The country has a population of 50 million. It is highly urbanised and ageing fast. In this sense it has similarities to Japan - although the two are historical rivals.
But Japan, while party to the TPP trade talks, doesn't look likely to drop trade barriers around food and agriculture anytime soon.
An ageing population with disposable income and a preoccupation with healthy foods and supplements is an ideal market for this country as it seeks to shift its produce up the value chain.
So while the big primary exporters will be first to clip the ticket on this trade agreement, it may be that this deal presents an opportunity for the hundreds of small exporters in the high-value food and health products sectors to target new consumers.
Beyond that, New Zealand's fledgling tech sector should also view the chance to mix it with one of the world's high-tech super powers as an opportunity to partner and source new capital for expansion.
