A just announced trade deal for New Zealand with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council has been heartily welcomed by Seafood sector representative body Seafood New Zealand.

The deal delivers duty free access for 99 percent of New Zealand’s exports over 10 years.

Seafood New Zealand CEO Lisa Futschek says this supports the possibility of growing trade with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“With seafood exports to these countries worth $14 million in 2023, there is plenty of room for growth.  The deal gives us duty-free access for 95.5% of seafood products by year five. 

“These sorts of deals support our exporters and help build confidence in investment for the long term.”

Aotearoa’s seafood sector is worth just over $2 billion in export revenue.  Government projections show that demand is forecast to remain strong in the 2024/25 year and that this should boost export revenue to $2.5 billion (figures from MPI’s SOPI report).

Lisa Futschek also hailed the standards committed to in the free trade agreement.

“We are very pleased to see the commitments to human capital and labour standards as well as to women’s economic empowerment and the recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi Exception.  Plus it is very pleasing to see that commitments to climate change objectives are recognised.  New Zealand’s seafood industry has a very small carbon footprint compared to other types of protein production.”

More details about the deal can be found here.

ENDS 

 

 

Background details on the free trade agreement with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council):

 

  • New Zealand will have duty-free access for 95.5% of fish and seafood products by year five.
  • Tariffs have been eliminated on key products such as mussels ($13.6 million in 2023).
  • Products currently going in duty-free will continue to do so.
  • Seafood exports to the GCC were over $14 million in 2023.

 

 

Background on the economics of New Zealand’s seafood sector:

 

  • New Zealand is a maritime nation with one of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the world.  Our marine area is 15 times the size of Aotearoa’s land mass.
  • Total seafood exports, including aquaculture, reached $2.1 billion in 2023.
  • The seafood industry also makes a significant economic contribution domestically. BERL figures from 2020 show the seafood industry contributed:
    • $5.2 billion in total economic output annually
    • $2.2 billion in annual GDP
    • 16,530 FTEs in annual total employment