Browse Data and Analysis

New Zealand continues to be an important market for U.S. agricultural products. In 2021, despite logistical and other challenges because of COVID-19, New Zealand’s imports continued to grow to a record US$ 625 million of U.S. agricultural products.

Romania applies European Union (EU) regulations on imports of animal and non-animal products from the United States. The legislation on export certification is generally harmonized at the EU level. Romanian legislation applies to the minor categories on which requirements are not harmonized.

As a European Union (EU) member since 2007, Romania observes the EU regulations and directives, which are applied directly or transposed through national level implementing regulations. This report updates the sections on labeling requirements, packaging related waste, taxation, and other requirements measures over last year’s Romania FAIRS Annual Country Report.

Animal health concerns, feed, energy, fuel prices, and labor are the major factors impacting the Romanian swine sector. Romania’s swine herd had a 5.9 percent year-on-year decline in May 2022, while pork meat imports grew by 23 percent during the first eight months of 2022.

Romania, a member of the European Union (EU), maintains a balanced view regarding agricultural biotechnology. Although no biotech crops are cultivated in Romania, farmers continue to view biotechnology as an instrument in managing the agronomic risks and sustaining their competitiveness.

The New Zealand Productivity Commission submitted a report to the Government of New Zealand recommending that a review should be done on regulation of genetic modification to ensure it is fit for purpose and supports domestic innovation. Other than that, there have been no recent significant official changes to the genetically engineered (GE) policies established by the New Zealand government.

The outlook for the 2022/23 apple season in New Zealand is much more optimistic with the opening of international borders following COVID-19 restrictions. While the last two apple harvests were severely impacted by the lack of labor, the return of overseas workers under the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme is expected to help allow a recovery in production, with the forecast up 12 percent from the previous year’s estimated crop.

New Zealand milk production is forecasted to fall slightly in 2023. Although milk prices are at extremely high levels and expected to remain elevated, a number of issues are limiting the production response. This includes a slowly declining national herd, and also that on-farm inflation is expected to remain high as a result of the weak NZ dollar impacting imported input prices, as well as strong global fuel prices.

The Covid-19 pandemic had a major effect on the Hotel, Restaurant, Institutional (HRI) sector in New Zealand. This is especially true of the tourism and hospitality sectors which have been severely hit by the closed international borders.

New Zealand is expected to have already reached “peak” cattle numbers, and FAS/Wellington anticipates a very gradual decline in both dairy and beef cow numbers in the near future. One of the major influences on this is New Zealand governmental policy, and in particular regulations regarding livestock exclusion around certain water sources, as well as proposed pricing of agricultural emissions.

This report lists the major export certificates and other documentation required by the Government of New Zealand for U.S. exporters and food and agricultural products. New Zealand’s import requirements for food and agricultural products are complex and change frequently.

New Zealand has strict biosecurity rules for plant and animal products but also imports large volumes of food and beverage products. This report outlines regulatory requirements for food and agricultural products exported to New Zealand. Key recent changes include regulations relating to organic foods, as well as the introduction of country-of-origin labeling for some products.