By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's last exports of livestock by sea have been completed and live exports have ceased, its agriculture minister said on Friday, as it fully implemented a ban on export shipments of animals on the grounds of their welfare.

The government announced in 2021 that shipping animals offshore, largely for building herds in trading partners like China, would be halted but farmers would be given two years to transition out of the profitable export business.

"Our position on the map means that the journey to northern hemisphere markets will always be a long one and this brings unavoidable animal welfare challenges," Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said in a statement announcing that live exports had ceased.

Live exports by sea have contributed about 0.32% of New Zealand’s primary sector export revenue, which includes farming and mining, since 2015.

The total value of live animal exports in 2022 was NZ$524 million ($322.78 million).

New Zealand said in 2020 it was reviewing live exports when it introduced interim measures following the capsizing of a ship bound for China that killed nearly 6,000 cows and 41 of the 43 crew members.

($1 = 1.6234 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Robert Birsel)