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Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be in New Zealand on November 4-7 to push the on-going bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations towards conclusion even as some issues related to market access for dairy and agriculture and greater mobility for professionals are yet to be fully ironed out, sources said. “The fourth round (November 3-7, 2025) of negotiations for the India-New Zealand FTA commenced today in Auckland, New Zealand marking another step forward in advancing a balanced, comprehensive, and mutually beneficial partnership between the two nations,” per an official statement issued by the Commerce Department on Monday. Goyal is scheduled to join the Indian delegation on Tuesday and will meet top representatives from the government and industry during his visit, a source tracking the matter told businessline. The FTA was re-launched on March 16, 2025 in a meeting between Goyal and his New Zealand counterpart Todd McClay in Delhi. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who led the business delegation to India in March, backed Goyal’s plans of concluding the talks early. “After India and Australia successfully concluded their limited free trade deal in goods, New Zealand realised that it was possible to do a win-win deal with the country despite the sensitivities in dairy,” a source tracking the matter said. The two countries first started talks on an FTA way back in 2010 but after ten years of negotiations the discussions were suspended due to continued disagreements on a handful of issues, most prominently market access for New Zealand’s dairy sector. As the dairy sector supports millions of farmers in India, New Delhi is not keen to lower barriers. However, dairy is the top export item for New Zealand and thus its area of primary interest. “While New Zealand understands that it cannot have uninhibited access to India’s dairy sector, it wants some gains at least in areas where it is not in direct competition with Indian industry such as certain high-end products. It is also keen on maximizing its gains in the agriculture sector. India is moving cautiously in both dairy and agriculture,” the source said. Negotiations in this round are focusing on key areas, including trade in goods, trade in services, and Rules of Origin (ROO), the statement pointed out. “Both sides are working constructively to build on the progress achieved in earlier rounds, to reach convergence on outstanding issues and move towards the early conclusion of the FTA,” it noted. The India-New Zealand FTA must target a ten-fold growth in bilateral trade in ten years time, Goyal said at an economic forum in March. Bilateral trade in goods between the two in FY 2025 increased to $1.3 billion posting a 49 per cent growth over the previous fiscal, government figures point out. Since India’s gains from an FTA in the goods sector will be limited as New Zealand already has relatively low tariffs, advantages could accrue in services, especially related to movement of professionals. “India is hoping to maximise its gains in the are of movement of workers through easing of visa norms. Both sides have to come to a common understanding on the matter,” the source said. Published on November 3, 2025
