Tuesday, 10 November 2015 12:12

Free trade just the start

Written by  Pam Tipa

Even with a free trade agreement you can have "enormous challenges" if you don't have authorities on each side of the border supporting the passage of goods, Prime Minister John Key says.

If New Zealand does not give exporters the sort of support and services that they need, it will make their lives very difficult, he told a China Business Summit in Auckland yesterday.

New Zealand is a long way away, "we are the last bus stop on the planet", he said.

"So the point where a New Zealand company says I am going to go to Shanghai or Beijing or some part of China to sell a product because I can see there are 1.3 billion consumers there that are rapidly becoming middle income, that's easy.

"The hard bit is the legal issues, the language issues, the accounting issues, the in-country support, where they pick a partner, where they can rely on a partner – all of those kinds of things are much more challenging and for a country like New Zealand that happens much earlier on in the development of that company.

"If they were in Australia they could move from one state to another, become a critical mass, then think about exporting. In New Zealand's case it is not always as easy as that."

Nevertheless he said the China story is a big success, based on underlying fundamental consumer demand.

The $5 billion of dairy product and the infant formula going into China reflects that China has 20 million babies a year. With a two child policy, that will increase, he said.

"We know they highly value the quality and safety of the New Zealand product," he said.

He says to get two-way trade between New Zealand and China to $30 billion by 2020 is possible but some changes are needed, including more investment.

More like this

Irish, NZ connection showcased

The Irish Minister of State for Rural Communities says his country and New Zealand face very similar challenges on a range of issues related to agriculture, including climate change, biodiversity and rural depopulation.

Editorial: Escaping Trump's wrath

OPINION: President Donald Trump's bizarre hard line approach to the world of what was once 'rules-based trade' has got New Zealand government officials, politicians and exporters on tenterhooks.

Featured

Pāmu farm opens gate to urban visitors

For many urban New Zealanders, stepping into Pāmu’s Pinta dairy farm near Taupo last month was the first time they had had the chance to experience farm life up close.

National

Machinery & Products

Alpego eyes electric power harrow

Distributed by OriginAg in New Zealand, Italian manufacturer Alpego recently showed its three metre Alysium electric power harrow at the…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Dodgy!

OPINION: If you believe Maori Party president John Tamihere’s claim that “nothing dodgy” occurred at Manurewa Marae during the last…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter