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The red meat sector welcomes the recent appointment of Mel Poulton as the incoming Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
7 October 2019 Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Chairman Andrew Morrison says the role of SATE is crucial not only to the sector, but for New Zealand agriculture as a whole.
“The SATE has an important role in advocating for New Zealand’s agricultural trade interests, and Mel will do a great job ensuring New Zealand’s agricultural sector has a strong voice in an international setting,” says Mr Morrison.
“Being a farmer and a member of the Global Farmers Network, Mel will be able to provide her perspective on trade priorities for New Zealand agriculture and provide useful insights to the Government.”
Meat Industry Association (MIA) Chief Executive Tim Ritchie says trade is crucial to the sector and open markets are vital to the prosperity of New Zealand.
“Mel will have an important role to play in building support for the Free Trade Agreements with the European Union and potentially the United Kingdom.
“Both these markets are extremely important for New Zealand – and ensuring we have good access will be central to our success in the market. As a food producer, Mel will know and understand this well.”
The sector looks forward to welcoming Mel to her new position and sharing the sector’s priorities with her in due course.
B+LNZ and MIA would also like to acknowledge the work of Mike Peterson who has been in the SATE role since 2013.
“Mike has done a tremendous job building New Zealand’s agricultural trade profile around the world and working with Government on key agricultural trade priorities,” says Mr Morrison.
“He has set up a wide-ranging network of international relationships. We thank Mike for his contribution and wish him all the best for his next adventure.”