Jamie Mackay: The Country host on former Special Trade Envoy Mike Petersen issuing a warning to Kiwi primary exporters

One former Special Trade Envoy has issued a warning to Kiwi primary exporters amid the escalating trade war.

Mike Petersen has joined the chorus of international trade experts who say New Zealand will be caught in the crossfire between the US and China - and he's warning exporters to 'be ready to be nimble'.

The Country host Jamie Mackay explains further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jamie mckaye, Host of the Country is with me tonight.
Hi Jamie, kid a Ryan, how are very well? Thank you?
Now be ready to be nimble. That's the message to
the primary exporters from the international trade expert. Former Special
Trade Envoy Mike Peterson.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, yeah, a hawks both farmer as well. And Mike
knows a thing or two about trade, as you said,
former New Zealand Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, former Chair of
Beef and Lamb New Zealand, current chair of Scales, one
of our biggest horticulture companies, and he said, we're basically
we're going to have to tread warily between our two
biggest markets now the China or China and the US,

(00:42):
and we need to try and keep a foot in
both camps. Interestingly, in an interview I was reading from Mike,
he said, on the domestic front, while many farmers feel
they have a farmer friendly government and they certainly have
Ryan compared to what those poor buggers in the UK
are facing on to secure Starmer. He's saying that the

(01:03):
government has a big picture agenda as well. But when
it comes to that big picture agenda, I meeting Paris
Climate Climate accord agreements. Not everyone in the government, it seems,
agrees with that big picture, especially the likes of Winston
and even David Seymour's the jury's out to web it

(01:25):
on that one. So Mike Petterson saying farmers might like
the government, but they might like, might not like some
of their actions around climate change targets. But he's saying
it's nothing that science and innovation can't take care of.
Many people would argue maybe that's not the case. But anyhow,

(01:45):
some onwards and upwards for the primary sector. And as
I said after speaking to my UK farm and correspondent
today in the UK Rhyme where they had another massive
farmer protest, we've got it good in New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, particularly with the government and regulation. As you mentioned,
Jamie Zesprey is claiming a world first. What's this about?

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, this is this is quite a cool story. We
came or came across today or was it yesterday, The
only fruit company in the world that will shortly have
all its products sewn with home else sold should I say,
with home compostible labels? You know when you're eating your
Kiwi fruit gold and I've got those annoying plastic little labels. Well,

(02:27):
they're going to be a thing that the past. They're
going to be all compostible, which will be great, and
it's going to be on all fruit grown in New
Zealand or offshore. Remember that Zesbury's making a real play
for all year round supply by having growers in the
Northern Hemisphere as well. A lot of these European nations
are demanding fully compostible fruit stickers and I think it's

(02:51):
a really good thing. So there's a bit of a
challenge with these. There's three parts to them, the top,
the face, top, and the actual label itself. They've all
got to be compiled. The I've got about a stick
to a hairy surface, especially when it comes to green,
kyw fruit. The labels need to cope and cool stores
and out on the market floor where it might be
a wee bit warmer, and more importantly, obviously they need

(03:14):
to break down in the compost heap. So there we go.
Well done, Zespree. They're world leaders and a lot of things,
and I guess they can add compostible stickers to that list.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
That sounds good, Jamie, good on them, Thank you for that.
Jamie mckaye, host of the country here on news Talk
sad Beat.

Speaker 2 (03:31):
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