Federated Farmers is worried that the meat industry will not reap the benefits of the ASEAN free trade agreement.
Federated Farmers president Don Nicholson says Australia has a real export foothold in the 10 south-east Asian countries, while New Zealand "seems to be going backwards on lamb and mutton in both numbers and market share."
He says it is time to act, before the ASEAN free trade agreement is phased in next year.
"It's about our exporters having good relations with purchasers in that region, meeting the customs and requirements of that area and getting through the protocols," Mr Nicholson says.
"There's a lot of hurdles to jump, but the Australians are doing it, why aren't we?"
Mr Nicholson says a Meat and Livestock Australia report identifies the reason New Zealand lamb and mutton exports to the region have fluctuated as the price premium received from supplying European Union quota.
Mr Nicholson says instead of using the EU quota as a backstop while new markets are developed, it seems to have become a crutch that New Zealand's big meat processors depend on too heavily.
