Responding to objections from Polish dairy farmers a ministry spokesman said such a deal would create a win-win environment for the dairy sectors of both sides.
“We are aware that there are some concerns from agriculture producers in some EU member states that a potential increase in NZ exports under an FTA will impact European markets.
“But this would not be the case,” he said.
Arguing that NZ’s volume of production amounted to only a small percentage of world production, he said NZ produced just 3% of the world’s dairy products, 1% of world beef and 6% of global sheep meat.
“We firmly believe that an EU-NZ FTA will create a win-win environment for both our dairy industries to make the most of the burgeoning demand on the world market, especially in Asia.
“We will get much further working together, than alone.
“In fact, we can already point to a number of partnerships in the agriculture sector, notably in dairy and in horticulture. A high-quality FTA can further enhance these partnerships.”
The MPI response came after a move by Polish farmers to exclude dairy products from EU-NZ free trade talks, with the European Commission saying several member states shared Poland's concerns and had asked the commission to take a cautious approach in any future negotiation.
“We are not aware which member states may or may not support Poland, nor the details of Poland’s argument,” he said.
“The EU and NZ have been clear in their aim to begin negotiations for an FTA in 2017 and many member states have also expressed this to NZ ministers and officials.”
The spokesman said Trade Minister Todd McClay visited Warsaw in November to discuss the agreement with the Polish government as part of his ongoing engagement with EU Member States.
A senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had been to Warsaw last February for a range of meetings with counterparts regarding a deal.
Poland had 759,651 dairy cows in 20,062 herds on December 31, 2015.
The average milk yield at the time was 7771kg. The Polish dairy industry accounted for 7.2% of EU milk production in 2015 according to the latest Eurostat figures, placing the country fifth in terms of EU importance behind Germany, France, Britain and the Netherlands.
