An upgrade made to New Zealand’s free trade deal with China is set to benefit the country’s seafood sector, according to Seafood New Zealand Chief Executive Tim Pankhurst.
The new deal, announced by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the East Asia Summit in Bangkok on 7 November, will result in fresh seafood clearing Chinese customs in six hours or less. That means seafood will now be cleared more frequently outside of normal business hours, which will ensure the freshness, proper storage, and therefore the quality of the seafood New Zealand exports to China, Pankhurst said.
"That we have been promised a maximum six-hour turn-around is significant,” he said.
In a press conference after the signing of the agreement, Ardern herself mentioned the importance of speedier timelines in getting seafood cleared through Chinese customs.
"This is important not just for compliance but there's a cost to delays at the border, particularly in the quality of the product," Ardern said, according to Stuff, a New Zealand news site.
The Chinese market continues to grow in importance for New Zealand’s seafood sector, especially for chilled and live seafood,” Pankhurst said in a press release.
"Any improvements in the customs border clearance processes are welcome, especially as the value of chilled and live seafood to China was less than 0.1 percent in 2008 and is now around 51 percent of the total value of trade to China,” he said.
New Zealand exported NZD 1.81 million (USD 1.16 million, EUR 1.05 million) worth of seafood in 2018. Of that, the country exported 67,000 metric tons (MT) of seafood worth NZD 596.6 million (USD 381.9 million, EUR 344.8 million) to China in 2018. That’s up in value from 2008, when New Zealand exported 80,000 MT of seafood worth just NZD 163 million (USD 104.3 million, EUR 94.2 million).
“That represents a 17 percent decrease in volume and a 73 percent increase in value,” Pankhurst said.
The top species being exported to China are rock lobster, hoki, and squid, with salmon rapidly growing in importance. Exports to China of those top three species were worth NZD 308.4 million (USD 197.4 million, EUR 178.2 million), NZD 60.2 million (USD 38.5 million, EUR 34.8 million), and NZD 40 million (USD 25.6 million, EUR 23.1 million), respectively.
At the recent China International Import Exposition in Shanghai, New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker told Xinhua demand for New Zealand seafood was growing in China due to its reputation for being safe, traceable, nutritious, and sustainable.
Photo courtesy of A.O. Dao/Shutterstock
