Time to say oui to French trade, says envoy

By DANIEL RIORDAN

Exporters will never have a better time to make their mark in France, says New Zealand's Trade Commissioner in Paris, Martin Ross.

Awareness of all things Kiwi is at an all-time high, boosted by rugby, the America's Cup and an unexplained but welcome fascination with New Zealand from French journalists.

That awareness extends to our cuisine, which has apparently been attracting praise from the self-appointed authorities on fine dining.

Allied to that is the French economy's solid growth, expected to touch 3.5 per cent this year and to continue growing apace into the foreseeable future.

New Zealand's exports to France have grown about 10 per cent a year since 1995.

French customs records show they were worth about $435 million last year, although New Zealand's official figures show trade at half that.

Mr Ross says the reason for the difference is that many New Zealand goods reach France via other EC countries, such as Belgium.

That route is taken by three of our biggest exporters, Zespri, Enza and the Richmond meat company.

About 65 per cent of the total export value is food, especially lamb, fruit, seafood and dairy products.

Lamb is the foundation for French consumers' view of New Zealand as a source of high-quality products, says Mr Ross.

The French Government has set restrictive lamb, beef and dairy quotas to protect its farmers from more efficient foreign producers, he says, and our exporters can do little about that, he says.

Instead, the challenge is to develop markets with a potential to New Zealand exporters constrained only by an ability to compete on price and quality.

The French are far more concerned with quality than price, says Mr Ross.

His advice to Kiwi exporters looking for francs is clear-cut.

"It isn't easy. France isn't a market that will buy on price. People have to be prepared to work.

"It's not undersupplied with anything, and Germans, Italians and Americans are all busy trying to sell to them. New Zealanders have to match those efforts.

"But the upside is, once you're established, you're in. The French are far more interested in long-term partnerships than one-off deals just because they might be cheap."

Markets with potential include value-added seafood, agricultural technology and marine products.

Telecommunications also offers hope. The French industry is only now being deregulated, and will need the kind of high-tech products developed by New Zealand companies such as Tait Electronics.

Kiwi companies with high profiles in the French agritech sector include Gallagher with its electric fencing and Tru-Test milk-flow meters.