WELLINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Farmers' hard work in leading New Zealand's export-led recovery from COVID-19 is being rewarded with high prices forecast for milk and very strong returns for meat, Trade and Export Growth and Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said on Tuesday.
The announcement follows continuing high demand for New Zealand-grown meat and predicted rising price for milk, O'Connor said.
"Our farmers and growers have been working hard maintaining their volumes and together, through the COVID-19 response, we've been able to keep supply chains ticking and freight links open," he said.
The resilience of all export sectors is vital to New Zealand's ongoing economic strength, the minister said, adding that "Just as we aim to have diversified export markets, we're also focused on growing all our export sectors."
O'Connor said ongoing strength in prices was positive for farmers. For example, red meat exports increased by more than a quarter in August compared to the same month last year.
Overall exports for August reached 650 million NZ dollars (466 million U.S. dollars) with the 26 percent increase largely driven by higher beef exports, up 39 percent to 299 million NZ dollars (214 million U.S. dollars) year-on-year, statistics show.
The government is committed to helping all exporters through high-quality trade deals, such as last week's announced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Britain, and New Zealand's continuing negotiations with the European Union (EU) on an FTA, O'Connor said.
"Dairy and red meat exports to Britain will enjoy significant tariff-free quotas from day one in a market that we've effectively been locked out of for decades," he added.
The minister said consumers increasingly wanted high-quality products with strong animal welfare and environmental credentials. Enditem