Think Italy - but don't just think sailing

By DITA DE BONI marketing writer

You can swoon over their spaghetti, wax lyrical over their wine and give ovations to their opera, but don't mention Prada.

While admitting the interest that Italians - piqued by their America's Cup defeat - and New Zealanders have in each other, a newly formed business group hopes it is exports, and not bronzed, immaculately dressed sailors that spring to mind when Kiwis think of Italy.

The Wellington-based Italian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has been established to enhance trade between the two countries - trade which has less to do with sails and spinnakers and more to do with leather, wool, tractors and Machinery.

The public debut of the ICC was marked in Auckland with "I Sapori di Lombardia - A Taste of Italy," which saw local Italians and others meet and greet to talk trade over creamy gorgonzola cheese, saffron-flavoured risotto and other national delicacies.

Italy is New Zealand's third largest export market in the European Union, absorbing $340 million in exports including leather, wool, lamb and casein.

New Zealand, as the Italians say diplomatically, is "somewhat less relevant" as an export market, taking in $438 million in Italian goods, mostly tractors, heaters, appliances and piping.

But bilateral trade between the two countries has grown roughly 10 per cent each year for the past two years.

ICC president Pietro Sella says the efforts to boost trade both ways is strongly supported by the Italian Government, a network of chambers in Italy's 19 regions, and New Zealand-based Italian entrepreneurs.

He says the idea came from the Italian Trade Minister 10 months ago.

"The idea is to promote relationships, joint ventures, an exchange of technologies, and not just to sell or buy product.

"Marketing, especially with the internet, is relatively easy but we aim to provide a framework and support for business people from both countries."

Mr Sella admits that although Italy may have been a bureaucratic place to do business 6 or 7 years ago, laws have been passed to make the establishment of both foreign and domestic ventures much easier.

He says that while interest in New Zealand among Italians increased during the America's Cup, Italians also have a natural curiosity about foreign products and plenty of consumer and industrial opportunities exist, even within established markets such as dairy and meat.

The Italian Ambassador to NZ, Roberto Palmieri, agrees, saying that while Prada was important in boosting Italy's profile here, he is keen to move on to working on other things.

He has been working with Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton to allow the import into NZ of Italian foods which have previously been prohibited, such as the famous Parma ham.