Scott Simpson Coromandel MP

There has been much recent talk of free trade agreements.

Opening up world markets to our exports is crucial for the long term success of the New Zealand economy and politicians like me bang on endlessly about the importance of new free trade agreements. But what do they really mean for us here in the Bay of Plenty and for people living in local towns like Katikati?

Let's have a look at the positive impacts that will come directly to our local communities from the new free trade agreement just signed between Korea and New Zealand.

Already our sixth largest export destination, Korea is a dynamic and growing economy. There is a strong historic relationship between our two nations.

Koreans love kiwifruit. We grow kiwifruit and we sell big quantities of kiwifruit to Korea already.

In the past we have exported as much as $76 million worth of kiwifruit to Korea in a single year but doing so involved us paying high duties and tariffs imposed by Korea on those exports. The recently signed free trade agreement means those duties and tariffs will be progressively reduced and in a few years largely removed.

The result will be a saving to our kiwifruit industry of at least $35 million a year, year on year. That is money that stays in our local economy and makes our kiwifruit exports even more attractive to the discerning Korean consumer buying our quality fruit from Korean supermarkets.

There is an obvious opportunity for significant further future export growth and that leads to better returns for our growers, more investment in our kiwifruit orchards and more local jobs in towns like Katikati.

And there is more good news on the local front for our kiwifruit sector.

All indications are that this year's harvest will be a bumper crop with fruit-laden vines ready for picking up to a week earlier than usual. The harvest traditionally gets underway in late March but I'm told some growers have already picked their crops.

Thankfully the sector has been steadily recovering from the losses caused by the bacterial PSA disease. At the height of the PSA incursion kiwifruit production dropped back to around 85 million trays but this year it's looking like the crop will be back up to 110 million trays again. That's a huge rebound in just a couple of years and the prospect of even higher volumes in seasons to come is very real. The Korean Free Trade Agreement will underpin much of that future growth and the benefits will flow directly into our local communities at every level.