New Zealand wine exports will receive a boost following the imminent signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

New Zealand Winegrowers warmly welcomes the news that the 11 nations negotiating the CPTPP have completed talks and are set to sign the agreement in Chile on 8 March.

“This is very good news for the 20,000 people in our regions whose livelihoods depend on the wine sector,” said Philip Gregan, Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand Winegrowers.

“It’s also a testament to the intensely hard work that Trade Minister David Parker and his negotiating team have put in over the past few months, and the years of determined effort that went into TPP under former ministers Tim Groser and Todd McClay.”

New Zealand’s wine exports to CPTPP countries were valued at $515m in the year ended June 2017.

The CPTPP will be New Zealand’s first trade agreement with Japan, Mexico, Canada and Peru. “This agreement will immediately begin to make our products more competitive in CPTPP markets such as Canada, Japan and Malaysia by reducing import tariffs. That’s a win that’s ultimately worth several million dollars a year.”

“Without this agreement we would slip behind other wine producers, like Australia, who have already negotiated much cheaper access for their wine to important markets like Japan.”

Importantly, New Zealand Winegrowers also expects the signing of the agreement to act as a signal for increased investment and trade between the signatory countries. “That has been our experience with other trade deals – it’s like the governments put up a shiny new ‘open for business’ sign, so people look afresh at doing business with those economies,” Gregan said.

-ENDS-

New Zealand Winegrowers provides strategic leadership for the New Zealand wine industry and is the body that represents the interests of all of New Zealand’s grape growers and winemakers.

New Zealand wine exports have reached a record high and now stand at $1.675 billion, up 5% for the year ended November 2017. New Zealand wine is exported to more than 90 countries, and is New Zealand’s 5th largest export good. The industry is working towards a goal of $2 billion of exports in 2020.

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