Exporters fearful of being shut out of South Korea are welcoming reports it may join free-trade talks that include New Zealand.
New Zealand's sixth largest export market is considering joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, at the request of the United States.
Special agricultural envoy Alistair Polson says a number of New Zealand's competitors have secured, or are about to secure, trade deals with the South Koreans.
He says that's prompted concerns New Zealand exporters will soon be priced out of that market - but South Korean membership of the TPP could get around that problem.
