STRATEGIC ISSUES FACING THE SECTORS
INTRODUCTION
- The purpose of this paper is to highlight the key strategic issues that MAF sees the
sectors facing. These issues are many and varied. To enhance readability this paper has
been split into sections covering the Strategic Priority Areas as MAF sees them.
- Those Strategic Priority Areas are:
- Section A - The Business Environment : International
- Section B - The Business Environment : Domestic
- Section C - Sanitary and Phytosanitary Assurances
- Section D - Biosecurity
- Section E - Sustainable Resource Use
- Section F - Mâori and Treaty Issues
The sectors are facing
issues in six strategic priority areas
|
General
- The agriculture, forestry and horticulture sectors are of key importance to the New
Zealand economy, making up 62 percent of total exports (in the June 1999 year). These
sectors, together with first stage processing, employ about 13 percent of the estimated
total labour force (as at the June 1999 quarter), and contribute to 15.4 percent of New
Zealand's GDP (for the March 1999 year).
- The sectors are:
- based on the use of human and financial capital to convert natural (land, water,
gene-stocks) resources into animal and plant raw materials; that are
- processed/manufactured into products; most of which are
- traded internationally.
- To meet the outcomes New Zealand seeks from the sectors they must achieve sustainable
long-term profitability. This, in turn, is dependent on the sectors:
- identifying and capturing profitable markets;
- sustaining and enhancing their domestic competitiveness (in terms of access to natural
resources, and financial and human capital);
- sustaining and enhancing the natural resources upon which they are based;
- remaining internationally competitive.
- While productivity increases will continue to generate returns for the sectors, the key
to their long-term profitability lies with international consumers. It is they who must
provide the returns that enable all those in the value chain to derive profitable returns
on their investments. Increasingly we cannot rely on our comparative advantage as
producers of sheep, milk, cattle, deer, trees, and horticultural products to provide
profitable returns.
| The sectors are important to New
Zealand's economic performance |
- One of New Zealand's key challenges is to obtain greater and fairer access to markets.
International trade in agricultural products is still severely distorted by tariff
barriers, domestic and export subsidies and the activities of state trading enterprises.
These barriers need to be broken down.
- Any achievements in freeing up international trade do not guarantee success, however.
The sectors themselves must be sufficiently innovative, dynamic and responsive to be able
to grasp those opportunities and make the most of them. Freeing up world trade also
presents risks. The opportunities created do not belong only to New Zealand, as they are
available for all our competitors. Many of those competitors are able to produce the same
products that we can more cheaply and they are closing the gap very fast in terms of
quality (of both products and customer service) and their capacity to innovate. Success,
in the end result, depends on New Zealand businesses identifying what consumers are
prepared to pay for, and consistently meeting those expectations.
| A key challenge is to free up
international trade |
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
Contact this person
