Agricultural groups came out in support of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement soon after it was signed in Auckland yesterday by trade ministers representing the 12 signatory countries.
Federated Farmers president William Rolleston said the agreement might not have delivered everything the sector desired, but the scale and its importance to New Zealand was undoubtedly profound.
For the primary sector, the TPP offered diverse opportunities not only for agriculture but for future generations of New Zealanders and their prosperity.
"You only have to look at the current state of dairy prices to realise the vital importance of opening up new export markets and ensuring a level playing field to New Zealand exporters.''
Federated Farmers was asking Labour leader Andrew Little and others in the Labour Party to maintain an open mind on the deal, which was supported by not only past Labour leaders and trade negotiators but also many of New Zealand's largest industries, including agriculture, Dr Rolleston said.
Deer Industry New Zealand chief executive Dan Coup said the main benefit for the deer industry from the TPP agreement would be the ability to challenge any potentially unfair regulations imposed by importing countries.
Regulatory barriers could sometimes do more to impede trade than tariffs and quotas.
Under the TPP, there would be an independent disputes mechanism allowing exporters to appeal regulations in the importing countries they believed were unjustified or unfair.
The agreement did not offer any immediate tariff or quota benefits to the deer industry, because its products faced no significant tariff barriers in the countries that were the initial parties to the agreement.
But most deer farmers also produced beef and lamb, products that would benefit in time from lower trade barriers, he said.
The New Zealand sheep and beef sector exported close to 90% of its production, totalling $7.4billion, on which $323million of tariffs was paid in 2014.
Nearly one-third of those exports went to TPP member countries and a significant proportion of those tariffs was paid in Japan ($77million), where applied tariffs on New Zealand beef exports were 38.5%.
Meat Industry Association chairman Bill Falconer said the TPP would eliminate, over time, the vast majority of tariff costs on New Zealand red-meat exports to TPP member countries.
The TPP also included ways to address complex non-tariff barriers that would prove useful in terms of opening markets and ensuring they stayed open, he said.
Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman said the most critical result in the deal for New Zealand horticulture exporters was the reduction of tariffs to Japan.
Japan was New Zealand horticulture's third-largest market.
Horticulture was New Zealand's fourth-largest export earner, sending fresh and processed products valued at more than $2.5 billion to more than 120 countries each year.
The estimated saving for nine key products - kiwifruit, apples, avocado, buttercup squash, capsicum, cherries, onions, potatoes and vegetable juices - was more than $25 million a year for the growers now exporting those products to Japan, the US and Vietnam, he said.
"The reduction and eventual removal of these tariffs doesn't just mean savings for growers exporting now but it means the products they export in the future will be more competitively priced and able to challenge the offerings from other countries.''
Market access was an issue that never went away for horticulture, Mr Chapman said.
An agreement like the TPP was overwhelmingly welcomed by growers, who could be more confident about the markets they supplied while they continued to plan for growth in their businesses.
Trade Minister Todd McClay said the Government would submit the final text of the TPP and the National Interest Analysis to Parliament.
The legislation changes to implement the trade agreement would then go through normal policy and parliamentary procedures.
The signatures yesterday marked the end of the negotiating process.
The text of the TPP was agreed but not yet legally binding.
The agreement was expected to come into force within two years of signature, once countries had completed their domestic legislative procedures, he said.
The Government would run nationwide roadshows for the public and business to ensure New Zealand was ready to take advantage of new opportunities from the first day the TPP entered into force.
