Apples, Kiwifruit, and Manuka Honey: How the India New Zealand FTA Manages Agricultural Market Access

Agriculture was the most sensitive area in the India-New Zealand FTA negotiations. India needed to protect its domestic farming communities, while New Zealand, one of the world's most efficient agricultural exporters, sought meaningful market access for its key products. The solution adopted in the agreement signed on April 27, 2026 is a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) system for three specific products: apples, kiwifruit, and Manuka honey. This system allows a defined quantity of imports at reduced duty rates, with higher tariffs applying to quantities above the quota. All three TRQs are linked to Agriculture Productivity Action Plans and monitored by a Joint Agriculture Productivity Council (JAPC), creating a unique mechanism that ties market access to agricultural development cooperation.

Apples: Tariff Reduced from 50 Percent to 25 Percent

India has agreed to reduce the basic customs duty on apple imports from New Zealand from 50 percent to 25 percent within a Tariff Rate Quota framework. The quota is fixed at 32,500 metric tonnes in the first year of the agreement and will increase gradually to 45,000 metric tonnes by the sixth year. The import window is restricted to April 1 to August 31 each year, which coincides with New Zealand's harvest season in the Southern Hemisphere. This seasonal window is a critical safeguard: it means New Zealand apples will not compete directly with the Indian domestic apple harvest, which typically arrives in markets from August onwards. Above the quota, the regular Most Favoured Nation tariff rate continues to apply, meaning imports beyond the TRQ limit face the full 50 percent duty.

Kiwifruit: Zero Duty Within Quota

Kiwifruit receives the most generous treatment among the three agricultural TRQ products. India will allow zero-duty imports of New Zealand kiwifruit within a quota of 6,250 tonnes, which is nearly four times the recent average export volume. For quantities above the quota, the tariff is halved to 16.5 percent, down from the current applied rate of approximately 33 percent. Kiwifruit is not widely grown in India, with limited cultivation in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and parts of the Northeast. The domestic sensitivity is therefore lower than for apples, and the TRQ is designed more as a growth opportunity for New Zealand exporters than as a protective measure for Indian growers. For Indian consumers, increased kiwifruit availability at lower prices could expand the market for a fruit that has been gaining popularity in urban India.

Manuka Honey: First-Ever Preferential Access

This is the first time India has granted preferential market access for honey in any trade agreement. Manuka honey, a premium product derived from the Manuka bush native to New Zealand, currently faces tariffs as high as 66 percent on entry into India. Under the FTA, in-quota imports of 200 metric tonnes per annum will receive a 75 percent tariff reduction over five years, subject to a minimum import price of USD 20 per kilogram. Out-of-quota imports with a minimum import price of USD 30 per kilogram will also receive a 75 percent tariff reduction over the same period. Given that New Zealand's average honey exports to India have been just seven tonnes per year, the 200-tonne quota represents a significant expansion of potential trade. The minimum import price mechanism ensures that only genuine premium Manuka honey benefits from the preferential tariff, preventing lower-grade honey from exploiting the concession.

Wine: Phased Reduction Over 10 Years

While not managed through a TRQ, wine deserves mention as another key New Zealand agricultural export that benefits significantly from the FTA. Indian tariffs on wine imports, which can be as high as 150 percent (combining basic customs duty and additional duties), will be reduced to between 25 and 50 percent over a 10-year phasing period. New Zealand's Sauvignon Blanc, particularly from the Marlborough region, has a strong global reputation, and the tariff reduction could open the Indian wine market to New Zealand producers who have found the current duty levels prohibitive. The phased reduction gives Indian domestic wine producers, concentrated primarily in Maharashtra and Karnataka, time to adjust to increased competition.

The Agriculture Productivity Safeguard

A distinctive feature of the agricultural provisions is the linkage between TRQs and Agriculture Productivity Action Plans. All quotas for apples, kiwifruit, and Manuka honey are tied to delivery on these plans and monitored by the Joint Agriculture Productivity Council. This mechanism ensures that market access is accompanied by agricultural development cooperation, so that Indian farmers benefit from knowledge transfer, technology sharing, and productivity improvement programmes alongside the increased competition from imports. This approach reflects a sophisticated negotiating strategy: rather than simply opening the market, India has secured a framework where market access and agricultural capacity building proceed in tandem.