1 - Introduction
Agriculture and its effect on the environment are of considerable importance to New Zealand, given the major role of agriculture in the economy. Of New Zealand's 27 million hectares, 13.6 million hectares (50%) are in agricultural use. For the year ended March 1995, primary agriculture accounted for an estimated 5.2% of Gross Domestic Product, and together with related industries accounted for an estimated 15.4% of GDP. Agricultural products accounted for 51% of New Zealand’s merchandise exports. This represents a slight diversification of the economy since 1984, when primary agriculture accounted for 7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 63% of all merchandise exports.
In the mid-1980s, New Zealand removed a wide range of support measures for agriculture, including minimum prices for wool, beef, sheepmeat, and dairy products; land development loans; fertiliser and irrigation subsidies; and subsidised credit. Central government subsidiesfor soil conservation, flood control and drainage schemes were also substantially eliminated. The subsidies were removed largely for economic reasons, in conjunction with macroeconomic reforms, as the country could no longer support the burden of subsidies on the public purse. This paper describes the New Zealand reforms and examines their environmental consequences. The macroeconomic context of the reforms is described in detail in an Annex.
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
