Lord Patten is the chancellor of Oxford University and was the 28th and last British governor of Hong Kong, the former British colony which was returned to China in 1997.
He was in Dunedin yesterday and gave an open lecture at the University of Otago, titled "Fit For Purpose? Europe After the Crash and the Election of President Obama".
In an interview, Lord Patten said New Zealand had "kiboshed very successfully intellectually" the argument that had been advanced in Britain that shoppers should take account of the "food miles" travelled by exports.
New Zealand economists had pointed out, that, in fact, much of what was imported from New Zealand had arrived in the northern hemisphere at a lower environmental cost than "things that we could make or grow at home", Lord Patten said.
Membership of the European Union has greatly increased since 2004, with the number of member countries almost doubling, to bring the current total to 27.
Asked what the recent changes, including an imminent move to elect an EU president for a much longer term, would have on New Zealand, Lord Patten said that export prospects remained bright in an expanded European market.
New Zealand remained a favoured destination for British immigrants and European tourists were also attracted by "its charms and beauty and quality of life".
New Zealand exporters needed to add further value to their products, to further emphasise quality, and to avoid bidding each other down when selling goods in Europe, such as to supermarkets.
Britain's move to join the then European Economic Community in the 1960s had caused "a lot of anxiety and hurt" in New Zealand because it had ended previous preferential trade arrangements.
However, this had provided the beneficial long-term effect of encouraging New Zealand exporters to pursue a more value-added approach, and to diversify their markets, he said.
Prof Patten's speaking tour of the country has been supported by the New Zealand European Union Centres Network, which comprises seven universities, including Otago University.
