Meat & Wool New Zealand chairman, Jeff Grant, and Meat Industry Association chairman Bill Falconer have welcomed the Government's confirmation that New Zealand's sheep meat quota to the EU will be expanded.

Minister for Trade Negotiations Jim Sutton announced that the EU will allocate a further 1,154 tonnes to the sheep meat quota to New Zealand. The quota expansion comes as a result of the EU's enlargement in May 2004 to include 10 new European countries.

A number of the new EU members, Malta and Cyprus in particular, had imported sheep meat from New Zealand prior to joining the EU. However, since EU enlargement this trade has been displaced, as sheep meat exports to Malta, Cyprus and the other acceding countries are now subject to the tariff quotas imposed by the EU for sheep meat and goat meat (currently 226,700 tonnes).

"We are pleased that the negotiations have concluded," said Mr Grant. "The agreement to expand New Zealand's sheep meat quota to the EU is appropriate recognition of New Zealand's historic sheep meat trade with the new EU members and ensures that New Zealand exporters are not in a less favourable position than they were prior to the EU's enlargement."

The outcome of negotiations on beef access to the EU has yet to be confirmed.