New Zealand fully implemented a ban on export shipments of animals on welfare grounds. The last exports of livestock by sea were completed the New Zealand agriculture minister confirmed Friday. The move follows on a 2021 announcement that shipping animals offshore, largely for building herds in trading partners like China, would be halted. They gave two years for farmers to transition out of the export business.
“Our position on the map means that the journey to northern hemisphere markets will always be a long one and this brings unavoidable animal welfare challenges,” Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said in a statement announcing that live exports had ceased.
Reports indicate that of 135,000 head of cattle shipped to China in 2022, 64 or 0.04 percent did not survive the trip. The cattle sold to China, earned the country $300 million last year.
Farm commodities account for 70 percent of New Zealand’s exports, and of those, live animal exports by sea have contributed about 0.32% of New Zealand’s primary sector export revenue, which includes farming and mining, since 2015. The total value of live animal exports in 2022 was NZ$524 million ($322.78 million).
New Zealand said in 2020 it was reviewing live exports when it introduced interim measures following the capsizing of a ship bound for China that killed nearly 6,000 cows and 41 of the 43 crew members.
Source: Reuters
From The TradersCommunity Australian News Desk