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Most New Zealand exporters should not suffer from a move by Britain's largest supermarket chain to label goods imported by air, Trade Minister Phil Goff says.
Supermarket chain Tesco this month unveiled a £500 million ($1439 million) strategy to cut carbon emissions and persuade its customers to buy environmentally friendly products.
Tesco said it planned to label food with details of its carbon footprint, showing consumers the amount of carbon emitted during the production, transport and consumption of each of the 70,000 different products it sells.
However it acknowledeged that would be complex and could take several years to implement.
As an initial step it would put airplane symbols on all goods imported by air. Air travel is one of the most carbon intensive forms of transport.
Mr Goff today said the move should have little negative effect on New Zealand exporters as most sold food and drinks -- 99.75 per cent of which were shipped overseas.
New Zealand was against the concept of food miles which only took into account the transportation of a product rather than its production.
However, the final Tesco plan, which incorporated both, should benefit New Zealand products, once it was fully implemented.
"We welcome that, provided its done in a full and appropriate manner," he told NZPA.
"New Zealand has got a good track record in that regard, therefore an objective use of food labelling would largely be to our benefit rather than our detriment."
Lincoln University studies had shown lamb produced in New Zealand and shipped to Britain used about a quarter of the energy the British used to produce and freight its own lamb to local supermarkets.
New Zealand dairy products used about half the energy of British counterparts, while onions and apples also used less even when transport halfway around the world was taken into account.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) was monitoring any reports on the issue and had set up a group comprising representatives from 25 industries to respond to any incorrect information.
Mr Goff said the Government was continuing to raise the issue with its European counterparts.
Tesco is the undisputed British market leader with around 30 per cent of the country's grocery market.
Its new new green plans also include limiting the amount of produce freighted by air to 1 per cent from the current 3 per cent and cutting emissions from existing stores worldwide by at least 50 per cent by 2020.
Tesco said that its current direct carbon footprint in Britain was about 2 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, with mass refrigeration of produce accounting for roughly a third of emissions.
The grocer also intends to reward shoppers who buy organic, Fairtrade and biodegradable goods with green loyalty points.
- NZPA
