Kiwis matchmaking with Chinese partners

Dairy companies Auscow Dairy NZ Ltd, Fresco Nutrition and GMP Dairy Ltd were among 120 domestic businesses able to talk one-on-one with trade delegates from 55 Chinese agribusiness companies.

The Bank of China organised the inaugural China-New Zealand Agribusiness Investment and Trade Conference last Wednesday at the Viaduct Event Centre on Auckland's waterfront.

The 120 domestic agribusinesses sought to matchmake with their Chinese counterparts to discuss opportunities in the fast-growing Chinese market, including trade partnerships and joint ventures.

The Kiwis came from a variety of sectors including farming, health supplements, agricultural machinery and farming technology.

Bank of China (NZ) chief executive officer David Lei Wang says NZ companies here need the right partners to support them in taking first steps into the Chinese market.

Part of Bank of China (NZ)'s role is to act as a bridge linking local companies to the right kind of Chinese business partners -- distribution, strategic investment, production or marketing.

Bank of China vice-president Gao Yingxin told the conference that NZ agribusinesses lead the world in dairy products, stock farming, meat and fruits. Those companies need to greatly increase their shares in emerging markets, he says.

"China has huge market capacity for farm products and needs to import a large number of high quality and healthy agricultural products from NZ."

The Chinese government is vigorously modernising the agriculture sector, encouraging agribusinesses in going global and focusing on making Chinese agricultural enterprises more competitive globally.

"Therefore the cooperation of the two countries in agriculture boasts great prospects and potential, capable of breathing new life into their economic and trade exchanges," says Yingxin.

The Bank of China has launched the cross-border investment matchmaking service for small-medium enterprises worldwide. Before coming here it held dozens of similar conferences in the US, Germany, France, Britain, Australia and other countries. At least 4000 SMEs participated in those events and reached 3500 cooperative agreements; at least 70% of the matchmaking efforts proved successful, the bank says.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, who accompanied Prime Minister John Key on a recent trip to China, saw many examples of NZ businesses strengthening their ties in China.

Fonterra held a ceremony to celebrate its partnership with Beingmate and the development of its Anmum brand in China.