New Zealand 2026 election: trade access and agricultural exports

For a farm business in rural New Zealand, the key question is not just which party wants to grow exports. It is how each party proposes to secure overseas markets, protect the value of what you produce, and manage the costs and rules that affect your ability to supply those markets.

The 2026 general election is scheduled for 7 November. As of 22 October 2026, parties are campaigning on different approaches to agricultural production, environmental regulation and export-led growth. National is emphasising new trade agreements and increasing export value, while other parties place different weight on production costs, regional resilience, environmental standards and economic diversification. Election policy tracker: what the parties are promisingElection 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary Sector

1. What the parties are offering

National

Export growth, trade agreements and regulatory certainty

• Wants to double the value of New Zealand exports within a decade.

• Points to trade agreements, including the India free-trade agreement, and deals with the UAE and Gulf states, as ways to expand market access.

• Proposes national farming standards, easier on-farm water storage, more flexible land use and less fragmented consenting.

• Supports keeping agriculture outside the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Backing NZ’s farmers and growers, to grow and open new exporNational sets out plan to double exports by 2034Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary Sector

  What to examine: whether new market access translates into better returns for your particular commodity, and whether promised regulatory certainty lasts.

ACT

Reducing farm costs and compliance burdens

• Opposes agricultural emissions taxes and wants agriculture permanently outside the ETS.

• Proposes national standards to simplify routine activities such as drain maintenance, fertiliser use, effluent management and water storage.

• Has proposed a Rural Workforce Visa for year-round farm jobs.

• Its central pitch is to improve profitability by reducing operating costs and regulatory uncertainty. ACT New ZealandACT New ZealandACT New Zealand

  What to examine: how the proposals would affect your actual compliance costs, workforce needs and environmental obligations.

Labour

Economic development, innovation and regional capacity

• Its 2026 policy programme includes a Future Fund to invest in New Zealand businesses and a Small Business Action Plan.

• Labour's primary-sector representatives have highlighted research and innovation, climate pressures, freight costs and unpredictable export markets as challenges for producers.

• Its published election programme emphasises economic development and public services, but the material reviewed here does not establish a specific new agricultural market-access target comparable with National's export-doubling goal. Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesLabour's 2026 Election PoliciesElection 2026: How Parties Would Lift the Arable Sector

  What to examine: the detail of its agricultural emissions, freshwater and trade-negotiation policies, and their implications for your farm.

New Zealand First

Primary-sector resilience and regional economic interests

• Says it will continue to prioritise farmers, growers, fishers and foresters as major contributors to exports and rural employment.

• Emphasises practical support for rural businesses, investment and economic resilience.

• Proposes breaking up the supermarket duopoly and strengthening the Grocery Commissioner and Commerce Commission to improve competition and supplier treatment. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorNZ First Campaign Policy Announcement: NZ First Will Break Up the Supermarket Duopoly, Bring Food Prices Down for Kiwis

  What to examine: the specific export-market commitments and how its domestic supplier reforms would affect your farm-gate returns.

Green Party

Environmental protection and sustainable food and fibre production

• Its 2026 manifesto backs sustainable farming, healthy waterways, regenerative approaches and good rural jobs.

• Places greater emphasis on environmental protection and addressing agriculture's climate impact than the parties advocating removal of agricultural emissions pricing.

• Presents environmental health as foundational to the long-term viability of food and fibre production. Manifesto 2026Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side

  What to examine: the proposed emissions-pricing settings, freshwater requirements, transition support and implications for export competitiveness.

Opportunity

Innovation, investment and economy-wide reforms

• Emphasises political stability and investment in innovation as ways to help farmers and other businesses.

• Its representatives have expressed reluctance to rely on industry-specific subsidies, preferring broad economic and tax settings. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorElection 2026: How Parties Would Lift the Arable Sector

  What to examine: whether economy-wide reforms would adequately address the specific trade, freight, research and infrastructure needs of your sector.

Coverage note: This is a summary of documented positions found in party material and 2026 election reporting, not a claim that every policy has been fully costed or that every party has published a complete trade plan. I have focused on the six parties above where relevant material was available; other parties may also have policies worth examining.

2. What “protecting agricultural exports” means in practice

A trade agreement is only one part of the picture. For your farm, there are four distinct issues to compare across party policies.

Issue	What to look for in party policies
Market access	Lower tariffs, new free-trade agreements, reduced quotas and fewer barriers to selling overseas.
Export value	Whether the policy could improve farm-gate prices, market competition, product premiums or value-added processing.
Cost of production	Fuel, fertiliser, electricity, interest, labour, freight, water infrastructure and compliance costs.
Environmental and trade standards	Rules on emissions, freshwater, traceability and animal welfare, including whether producers can meet overseas buyer requirements at a reasonable cost.

An important distinction: opening a market does not guarantee that exporters will earn more. Tariffs may fall, but prices still depend on demand, exchange rates, competition, freight costs and the terms offered by processors and buyers.

Likewise, environmental rules can impose costs on farms, but environmental performance can also matter to overseas customers and market access. The relevant question is what each party proposes, how it would be implemented and who pays.

3. Questions worth asking before you vote

Given that you farm well outside a main centre, I would compare the parties against these practical questions rather than relying on general campaign promises.

• Trade: Which specific overseas markets and agricultural products are targeted, and what measurable improvements are promised?
• Farm profitability: Which proposals are likely to change your annual operating costs, rather than simply increase total export revenue?
• Environmental obligations: What are the proposed rules for emissions, freshwater, farm plans and consenting, and how much certainty would they provide?
• Rural services and infrastructure: What commitments are there on rural roads, freight links, electricity reliability, telecommunications, healthcare access and emergency services?
• Delivery: Which measures are funded, legislated or already operating, and which remain campaign commitments?

For the trade question in particular, National's export-doubling target is a clear stated objective. ACT's proposals focus more directly on lowering farm costs, while Labour, New Zealand First, the Greens and Opportunity emphasise different combinations of innovation, regional resilience, supplier competition and environmental sustainability. Those are differences in policy approach, not proof of which approach will deliver the highest returns for an individual farm. National sets out plan to double exports by 2034ACT New ZealandLabour's 2026 Election PoliciesElection 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorManifesto 2026

4. Where to check the detail

These sources let you compare the parties' own commitments with independent election coverage:

• National — 2026 election policies
• ACT — Make Farming Fun Again
• Labour — 2026 election policies
• Green Party — 2026 manifesto
• Rural News — Election 2026 primary-sector policy coverage
• The Conversation — 2026 election policy tracker

One useful next step: Which type of farming do you run — dairy, sheep and beef, arable, horticulture, or mixed farming? Trade exposure and the costs of environmental compliance differ considerably by sector, so that would let me make the comparison more specific without assuming where in New Zealand you live.