Tuesday, 20 January 2026 10:52

FTA woes

Written by  Milking It

OPINION: Another example of the dairy sector getting shortchanged in free trade deals?

At Open Country Dairy's new butter plant opening last month, company chair Laurie Margrain had a swipe at the Government.

He told suppliers and industry leaders at the plant opening that the EU free trade deal has a bucket quota.

"And our $50 million investment has been locked out of that for the next few years because the quota's been based upon what we sold to Europe in the previous three years. So, we didn't have a butter plant.

"Now we've got a butter plant, a $50 million butter plant, and we can't sell to Europe."


 Read More:


More like this

Mark Patterson Promotes NZ Wool at India's Bharat Textile Expo

Just a matter of hours after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic trip to New Zealand, the political doors in India swung wide open for Associate Minister of Agriculture, Mark Patterson, who was there to help promote our high-quality coarse wool.

Indian PM Set To Make A Fleeting Visit

With the New Zealand/India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) dominating political debate here, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting New Zealand next week.

Featured

Editorial: Drones Are Not Toys

OPINION: David Seymour and James Meager's plan to make it easier for farmers and orchardists to operate drones can best be described a 'courageous' move.

Opuha Dam Commissions New Valve in Major Flood Safety Upgrade

Opuha Dam's ability to protect South Canterbury communities from major flooding has taken a significant step forward, with Opuha Water Limited (OWL) successfully commissioning a new outlet valve capable of releasing record volumes of water from the dam ahead of a weather event.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Domestic Focus

OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…

A No-Brainer

OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter