March 04, 2022
UK free trade deal to boost Sealord profit
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The head of a Māori fishing company Sealord says signing a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom is a win for the fishing industry.
The deal inked this week will eliminate all tariffs on New Zealand exports, and allow significant new duty-free quota access for beef, sheepmeat, butter and cheese.
Doug Paulin says a lack of agreements with the UK and European Union has harmed the fishing industry.
“Species like squid and southern blue whiting, which we sell a lot of at the moment into those areas, attract a very high tariff so it means we are very uncompetitive with other countries which do have free trade agreements so it will make a big difference to Sealord and to Māori by being able to get more of the profit that typically we have to spend on tariffs,” he says.
Sealord is enjoying increased prices and demand as restaurants and fast-food chains in Europe and North America reopen, but that’s offset in part by higher costs for fuel, freight and other inputs.