New Zealand farmers should not “crow too loudly” over the interim report from the World Trade Organisation, lifting lamb export restrictions to the United States, ACT Agricultural spokesman Gerry Eckhoff, said today.

“It is very good news and Meat New Zealand officials are to congratulated. However, we should now proceed with caution,” Mr Eckhoff said.

“Rather than crow too loudly we should respect the views of US sheep farmers and not allow ourselves to be perceived as working against them.

“The WTO verdict was in our favour but we need to work with them for the good of the sheep meat industry as a whole.

“Loss lending and related practices do not help our image as honest traders, and we need to work hard to change perceptions that New Zealand and Australia, are somehow competing unfairly.

“Let’s acknowledge that we have made progress – there is a case – but we only want to see progress in the cause of agricultural free trade which we all know is in the long-term interests of all parties,” Mr Eckhoff said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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