{"id":407814,"date":"2026-05-02T04:07:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T04:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/407814\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T04:07:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T04:07:08","slug":"india-free-trade-agreement-zespri-welcomes-deal-as-kiwifruit-tariffs-slashed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/407814\/","title":{"rendered":"India free trade agreement: Zespri welcomes deal as kiwifruit tariffs slashed"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the deal was signed, McClay said, it would open significant opportunities for New Zealand exporters, delivering \u201cthousands of jobs and billions of dollars in additional exports<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe delegation in India at the signing of the free trade agreement.<\/p>\n

The deal will eliminate or reduce tariffs on 95% of New Zealand exports to India. Eventually, 82% of exports will be tariff-free, with 57% becoming duty-free from the day the deal comes into effect.<\/p>\n

Exceptions include many dairy products, which still face high tariffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Immediate tariff elimination will apply to exports including sheep meat, wool, coal and 95% of forestry and wood products.<\/p>\n

Zespri\u2019s global head of public affairs, Michael Fox, said the company welcomed the FTA, with its chief executive, Jason Te Brake, in India for the signing.<\/p>\n

Under the FTA agreement, New Zealand growers \u2013 including those in the Bay of Plenty where about 80% of New Zealand\u2019s kiwifruit was grown \u2013 would see the tariff on kiwifruit exports removed on up to 15,000 tonnes per year. Exports over that would be subjected to a reduced tariff of 16.5%, Fox said.<\/p>\n

Fox said the tariff cost New Zealand growers $9m on $27m of sales last season.<\/p>\n

\"Zespri\u2019sZespri\u2019s global head of public affairs, Michael Fox.<\/p>\n

Fox said India had the world\u2019s largest population and fastest-growing large economy, with consumers increasingly focused on health and wellbeing and looking for high-quality, nutritious products.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe market access delivered through the FTA will allow us to invest to build high-value demand, providing the world\u2019s best kiwifruit to more Indian consumers and delivering leading value to growers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox said Zespri had been operating in India for more than a decade, building partnerships with supply chain partners, working with local retailers, and building brand awareness.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged the efforts of those who helped make the FTA happen, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, McClay, their teams, and the Labour Party\u2019s support<\/a> for the agreement.<\/p>\n

More sales to benefit regional economies <\/p>\n

Luxon, who visited Whakat\u0101ne on Thursday, told the Bay of Plenty Times he met with people who would benefit from the FTA, including one couple who knew they could sell \u201ca lot more kiwifruit into India\u201d. <\/p>\n

Selling more kiwifruit meant they could hire more workers and pay higher wages, benefiting regional economies, Luxon said.<\/p>\n

Asked what Bay of Plenty businesses could do to take advantage of the FTA, Luxon said Zespri had done well to understand the Indian market and how it would reach different consumer groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of opportunity, but [for] a lot of them it\u2019s about building their familiarity with India and the consumer and how best to communicate and tell their story to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat requires you to jump on a plane and get over there and understand the market and also work with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to build your knowledge of the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChristopherChristopher Luxon says Zespri has done well to understand the Indian market. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n

Luxon said India had a \u201crapidly growing middle class\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat just means that they\u2019ve got enough income that they want to buy better quality food and products and services. And of course, we sell some of the best in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luxon said the agreement created more opportunities for New Zealand exporters to sell to more consumers, drive bigger businesses and more growth, \u201cand more money comes back home to New Zealand\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat powers up jobs and income\u201d.<\/p>\n

Whakat\u0101ne Hospital\u2019s maternity services <\/p>\n

Secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services at Whakat\u0101ne Hospital resumed last month<\/a> after a specialist workforce shortage led Health New Zealand to move the hospital to a primary birthing service in January last year. <\/p>\n

Asked how the FTA could help address healthcare staffing issues in Whakat\u0101ne, Luxon acknowledged it had been \u201cchallenging\u201d, and the Government was aware that regional New Zealand needed more medical workers.<\/p>\n

The Government was building a third medical school in Hamilton<\/a>, \u201cdeliberately\u201d designed so people did their placements in regional New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe learning is that if you do your placements there, you often get attached to the community and as a consequence, you tend to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

RNZ reported the FTA included a quota of 5000 visas for skilled Indians to stay in New Zealand for up to three years in sectors of interest, including healthcare.<\/p>\n

Luxon said, \u201cAnything that drives the local economy creates opportunity\u201d, thereby making it a more attractive place for doctors and nurses to live due to greater wealth and prosperity in the region.<\/p>\n

Megan Wilson<\/a> is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the deal was signed, McClay said, it would open significant opportunities for New Zealand exporters, delivering \u201cthousands…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[19064,806,138,3468,12474,219,4975,13313,23361,2344,2454,23553,4380,111,139,69,11590,312,78456,7677,3179,584,45531,1533,102,57095],"class_list":["post-407814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-agreement","tag-as","tag-business","tag-deal","tag-dollars","tag-economy","tag-free","tag-giant","tag-growers","tag-india","tag-industry","tag-kiwifruit","tag-millions","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-save","tag-says","tag-slashed","tag-tariffs","tag-thanks","tag-trade","tag-welcomes","tag-will","tag-with","tag-zespri"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}