Effect of Trade Liberalization on Agricultural Export Performance in New Zealand

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to examine effect of trade liberalization on agricultural export performance in New Zealand Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Trade liberalization has boosted New Zealand’s agricultural exports, reaching NZD 48 billion in 2021. Policies like tariff cuts and FTAs, including the CPTPP, improved market access for dairy, meat, and horticulture. Despite growth, challenges like global competition and meeting international standards persist. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Comparative advantage theory, gravity model of trade & endogenous growth theory may be used to anchor future studies on the effect of trade liberalization on agricultural export performance in New Zealand. Governments should foster public-private partnerships to build critical infrastructure such as transportation and storage facilities, which are often bottlenecks in global agricultural supply chains. Policymakers should integrate agricultural export growth strategies with broader economic development goals, ensuring that trade liberalization policies are aligned with national agricultural and rural development policies.