“The uncertainty is not helpful for farmers in terms of planning; they’ve got to make decisions on a regular basis about the future of their farming operations,” Neal said.
“The non-appearance of legislation to restore the trade is something that presents fewer options for farmers.”
The Government has said it would only resume live exports by sea with a new gold standard for animal welfare, but Labour has doubled down and said if it was elected, it would enforce the ban.
With uncertainty, would the industry invest in gold standard ships for export? Neal thought so.
“We think there is sufficient demand for protein in South East Asia – demand is growing all the time, we send really high-value animals which are highly prized there.
“We’ve had a very successful trade with China for 20 years, we’ve sent hundreds of thousands of animals up there at a time when dairy demand was growing.
“So now we are looking at countries like Indonesia and others that want to have their own dairy production boosted by some great New Zealand bovine genetics.”
Neal said even if legislation is passed to reinstate exports, the industry needs a good six to 12 months to prepare, as decisions need to be made at breeding time.
It’s clear the industry is frustrated by the lack of progress, and there’s a lot of money at stake – in 2024, it spent $1 million on a lobbying campaign to persuade the Government to restart the trade.
Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard acknowledged the development of the legislation had taken longer than planned.
“The Government has always been clear that when the trade returned, it would be with the highest animal welfare standards, and we are still discussing what that looks like as a government.
“I know the livestock sector will be looking for certainty, and as soon as I have something to announce, I’ll let them know.”
- RNZ
