Meat NZ supports call for end to subsidies

Meat New Zealand says the Cairns Group meeting in Costa Rica last week has put pressure on the World Trade Organisation in its moves to re-organise trade.

"Keeping the heat on trade reform is particularly important for New Zealand as we export 80 per cent of our red meat, worth $4.9 billion," said the industry board's chief executive, Mark Jeffries.

The Cairns Group - which includes New Zealand - issued a joint call for the United States, Europe and Japan to each set a final date for ending all agricultural export subsidies.

And the agricultural nations pressed the major powers to show leadership by converting the WTO commitments into action.

"There is no need to identify a list of products on which export subsidies should be eliminated," the Cairns Group said.

"What is needed now is a commitment to negotiate a final date for the elimination of export subsidies on all products."

In December 2001 WTO ministers adopted an agenda calling for negotiations on "phasing out" agricultural export subsidies, but at free trade talks in Cancun, Mexico, last year they split over how it should be done.

The Cairns Group nations - Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand and Uruguay - chided the big industrialised nations.

"Proposals by the major developed countries fall well short of the Doha mandate and would leave in place enormous levels of trade-distorting support," they complained.

Mr Jeffries said New Zealand meat already faced a full range of barriers and distortions in overseas markets, and it was important to keep other countries honest.

"The leadership shown by the Cairns Group will go a long way to re-invigorating the WTO negotiations," he said.

He thanked Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton for his energetic efforts to get the WTO negotiations back on track so New Zealand sheep and beef farmers could enjoy freer trade in the global market.

- NZPA