Non-tariff trade barriers are the biggest headache for New Zealand exporters, say local farmers and businesses.

New Zealand attended its first G7 event, a trade meeting, earlier this month, where trade minister Todd McClay discussed such barriers with representatives from Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Kenya, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam.

In an interview with RNZ, McClay said the G7 countries represented 25% of the world's GDP, which made it an event worth attending.

Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury president David Acland said getting a foot in the door of global trade discussions was useful, especially as a “food producing nation”.

“I read the communique, and it talks about food security, trade channels and maintaining trade channels.”

Overseas freighting costs and assurances were the biggest barriers for New Zealand exporters, he said, and they’re perennial issues.

A spokesperson for frozen food company Talley’s echoed that sentiment, and said transportation issues and stricter border controls have made overseas shipping “slower, less available, and more expensive”.

Non-tariff barriers have increased as global markets become more segregated, they said.

“As a country, we need to ensure that we are engaged with major markets, reasonable in our demands and targets, and maintain[ing] access to key areas such as Asia, America, and Europe.”

Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury dairy chairperson Nick Giera said a return to protectionism - countries using policy to insulate their industries from overseas competition - and non-tariff barriers were the key issues.

“Any influence New Zealand ministers and trade officials can have in our markets, to give our exports better access, has to be positive.”

Acland said while he doesn’t expect much to change for New Zealand exporters immediately following the meeting, being a part of the international conversation was a step in the right direction.

“The WTO doesn’t have a lot of teeth anymore. So having the G7 talking about making sure trade was free of distortion - assuming that’s subsidies, non-tariff trade barriers - to enable countries to flourish is critical.”

G7, short for “group of seven,” refers to a group of nations with advanced economies -namely Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

By Anisha Satya