New Zealand red meat sector says EU’s deforestation delay good news

By RNZ

The red meat sector has welcomed news the EU is delaying its deforestation regulation by 12 months.

Due to come into force at the end of this year, the rules mean exporters have to prove their products are not linked to deforestation.

The EU said the main driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land that is linked to the production of commodities like cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products, such as leather, chocolate, tyres or furniture.

New Zealand’s red meat industry has been advocating for a delay and review of the rules for almost two years.

Meat Industry Association chairman Nathan Guy.

Meat Industry Association (MIA) chairman Nathan Guy said while the red meat sector supports the intent to tackle global deforestation, both MIA and Beef + Lamb NZ (B+LNZ) believe the deforestation free regulations have been poorly designed, poorly drafted, and were not fit for purpose.

“Instead of incentivising the trade of deforestation-free products, the deforestation-free regulations see exports from countries with extremely low instances of deforestation, like New Zealand, treated the same as countries where there is a high risk of this occurring.

“The rules would impact approximately $200 million worth of beef and leather exports to the EU.”

B+LNZ chair Kate Acland said maintaining market access settings for New Zealand’s beef was critical, with approximately 60% of export revenues flowing through to farmers.

“New Zealand’s voice was key in helping EU regulators understand that even their most sustainable trading partners would struggle to comply with these regulations.

“This is not the first time the sector has been successful in its advocacy efforts to address non-tariff trade barriers with the EU and follows the successful exclusion of sheep products from the deforestation regulations in 2022.”

She said sheep and beef farms contain about 25% of the total native vegetation in New Zealand, comprising 2.8 million hectares.

“This should be recognised by New Zealand’s trading partners, particularly those we have a free trade agreement with.

“Unlike some of our competitors, New Zealand has a significant trend of afforestation, not deforestation.

“This regulation was not appropriate for New Zealand’s situation and risks adding additional unnecessary cost into the supply chain.”

Guy said the announcement on Friday was not a reversal of the legislation, merely a delay.

“MIA and B+LNZ will continue to work with our trade minister and his officials to push back and strongly advocate for a more pragmatic and sensible solution.”

- RNZ