Agriculture Minister to visit EU and UK

Agriculture Minister David Carter leaves for Brussels today for bilateral meetings with the European Commissioner for Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel and European Commissioner for Trade Baroness Catherine Ashton.

The Minister will also meet with his UK counterpart, Hilary Benn in London next week.

"This is a significant opportunity to promote New Zealand's agricultural trade in the European market and to strengthen relationships with our second-largest trading partner.

"Export subsidies will be high on my agenda and I will take every opportunity to raise New Zealand's concerns. Farmers the world over are under pressure and the EU's decision to reintroduce subsidies is short-sighted and damaging to world markets."

Mr Carter's trip will include a visit to a Zespri processing plant at Zeebrugge and meetings with the Chair of the Commission for Rural Communities and agritech representatives in London.

The Minister will also host a New Zealand trade promotion event at the Royal Show, one of the largest agricultural events in the northern hemisphere.