Saturday, March 30, 2024

Primary sector contribution significant, PM says

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Primary industries are at the heart of the Government’s three key objectives – continuing to keep New Zealanders safe from covid, accelerating the economic recovery and laying the foundations for the future – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the Primary Industries Summit on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the submission process has shown the importance of sequestration to farmers.
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“Keeping the virus out means our domestic economy can stay open, accelerating our recovery means leveraging our covid-free brand to maximise our export value, while accessing new markets and laying the foundations for the future means tackling long-term challenges like our water quality and climate change because it is our economic interests to do so, but also because they are the right things to do for our today and for our future,” she said.

Ardern acknowledged the role of the primary sector in keeping the country moving during the past nine months when parts of the economy had shut down.

She says that it was not only food producers but also non-food businesses, such as those processing wool for medical facemasks and producing paper and timber products needed to package and transport food.

However, she understood that some in the sector have faced challenges.

“Some industries that rely heavily on seasonal labour, such as the horticulture industry, have struggled due to border closures,” she said. 

“However, many parts of industry have taken innovative steps to encourage more New Zealanders into their sectors. This has been a lifeline for many redeployed workers from industries such as tourism and hospitality.

“Whether it is keeping the milk flowing through our processing plants or livestock moving through our freezing works, the food and fibres sector has kept New Zealanders fed and maintained our vital export markets.”

Ardern says the Government is focused on improving access to markets and the recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will increase opportunities for exporters, cut red tape and offer one set of trade rules across the Asia Pacific region.

“Once it enters into force, RCEP will be the largest free trade agreement in the world,” she said.

“It will position NZ at the centre of economic cooperation initiatives in a region which accounts for 30% of the world’s population, nearly a third of the world’s GDP and destination for 56% of NZ’s total exports.”

She says the food and fibres sector will benefit greatly from the deal, particularly from the elimination of tariffs on some meat products going into Indonesia.

The Government will continue to work with primary industries to overcome problems and build a sector that is fit for a better world.

“Our Fit for a Better World roadmap identifies the goal of employing 10% more New Zealanders from all walks of life in the food and fibres sector by 2030, and 10,000 more New Zealanders in the food and fibres sector workforce over the next four years,” she said.

She says upskilling people at all stages of their careers, getting more of them into jobs and providing excellent and safe workplaces was part of the Government’s plan to build a prosperous future.

“Achieving this goal is vital to our success. It will ensure that our businesses can remain operational in the absence of overseas visitors, it will provide meaningful employment to those that have lost their jobs due to covid-19, it will support our rural communities, and it will build the resilience of our food and fibres sector,” she said.

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