New Zealand’s red meat sector welcomes postponement of EU regulation on deforestation

The Meat Industry Association (MIA) and Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) welcome the announcement that the European Union’s Deforestation-free supply chains Regulation (EUDR) will be delayed by 12 months.

The red meat sector has been advocating strongly for a delay and a review for almost two years.

The announcement shows that the haste with which this regulation was designed and implemented was going to disrupt global supply chains and threaten $200 million worth of New Zealand exports.

MIA Independent Chair Nathan Guy says while the red meat sector supports the intent to tackle global deforestation, both MIA and B+LNZ believe the EUDR has been poorly designed, poorly drafted, and is not fit for purpose.

“The EUDR would impact approximately $200 million worth of beef and leather exports to the EU.

“Instead of incentivising the trade of deforestation-free products, the EUDR sees exports from countries with extremely low instances of deforestation, like New Zealand, treated the same as countries where there is a high-risk of this occurring.

“The announcement today is not a reversal of the legislation, merely a delay. MIA and B+LNZ will continue to work with our Trade Minister and his officials to push back and strongly advocate for a more pragmatic and sensible solution.

“New Zealand beef exports’ sustainability credentials need to be formally recognised and treated differently to competitors with deforestation issues.”

B+LNZ Chair Kate Acland says New Zealand has strong sustainability credentials and is committed to preserving forests.

“Sheep and beef farms contain approximately 25 percent of the total native vegetation (tussock, native bush, and scrubland) in New Zealand, comprising 2.8 million hectares.

“This should be recognised by New Zealand’s trading partners, particularly those we have a Free Trade Agreement with.

“Unlike some of our competitors, New Zealand has a significant trend of afforestation, not deforestation. This regulation was not appropriate for New Zealand’s situation and risks adding additional unnecessary cost into the supply chain.

“Maintaining market access settings for New Zealand’s beef is critical with approximately 60 percent of export revenues flowing through to farmers.”

B+LNZ’s UK-based Regional Manager for the EU and UK, as well as in market activity from NZ-based staff, has been integral to securing the delay, she says.

“New Zealand’s voice was key in helping EU regulators understand that even their most sustainable trading partners would struggle to comply with these regulations.

“This is not the first time the sector has been successful in its advocacy efforts to address non-tariff trade barriers with the EU and follows the successful exclusion of sheep products from the EUDR in 2022,” she says.

“The desire to extend EUDR to sheep products still exists in some EU circles and we will continue our advocacy efforts in this space.

“B+LNZ and MIA thank the Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Hon Todd McClay, and New Zealand government officials for their hard work in advocating for this outcome. We look forward to working together to secure a more permanent solution.”