Reconstituting New Zealand’s agri-food chains for international competition*

At the end of the twentieth century New Zealand was regarded as an important case study for impacts of an explicitly neo-liberal agenda on exportoriented agriculture. Indeed New Zealand has often been held up as a model for key elements of this agenda, especially marketization, privatization and trade liberalization. The application of the model in New Zealand rests on three key assumptions. First, liberalized trade provides the optimal environment for New Zealand’s export agriculture to exploit its relatively low production costs. Second, liberalization will encourage labour and capital to shift to areas in which New Zealand has comparative advantage. Third, international competition encourages innovation, in products and institutions, helping to forge a wealthier future.