Export initiative to tackle fading figures

New Zealand needs to do more exporting - and Wanganui businesses have been told how New Zealand Trade and Enterprise can help.

The message was delivered to a new group started by the Whanganui Employers' Chamber of Commerce. The group is Export New Zealand Whanganui Region, and members heard all about the government body at a breakfast meeting last month.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Taranaki/Whanganui/Manawatu manager Nick Fleming couldn't be there, so the message was delivered by Wanganui District Council economic development manager Allan MacGibbon.

He explained New Zealand export growth had diverged from growth in "non-tradeable" spending on things such as housing and government services.

The country's exports grew 5.4 per cent a year from 1989 to 2004. From then, until 2010, they grew only 1.4 per cent, meaning earning was not keeping pace with spending.

The number of exporters was not growing either. Just 200 businesses accounted for nearly 80 per cent of merchandise export trade.

Mr MacGibbon put that sluggishness down to "navel gazing - not looking at what's happening in the rest of the world".

He compared New Zealand with Denmark, two countries with similar population size. In the 1970s both had major strengths in food production. Both had grown their food exports since then but Denmark had romped ahead of New Zealand with other export products.

In fact between 2004 and 2010, New Zealand's dairy exports were the only category to grow much - and exported services actually declined.

The country's agricultural commodities were always going to form the basis of exports, Mr MacGibbon said - but they needed value added.

"We can feed 20 million people, that's as far as we can go. It's better to feed rich people with high-value food."

Meanwhile, Asia was reverting to where it was up until 1800 - with about half the world's wealth. China and India were growing especially fast.

"The Indian middle classes will soon be larger than the United States and Germany combined, and better educated."

New Zealand's exports were growing fastest with its top two trading partners, Australia and China. And since its free trade agreement with China in 2008, New Zealand's exports there had grown 148 per cent.

The biggest growth in exports to China was in food and fibre, with exports totalling $5.7 billion and imports $6.8 billion.

For those in the Whanganui region, its regional business partner programme is run by Vision Manawatu, and its incubators programme is run from Palmerston North's Bio Commerce Centre (BCC). China business programmes are run in New Plymouth and Palmerston North.

Spending a few hours on the Trade and Enterprise website would be a good start toward finding out more about how it could help, Mr MacGibbon said.

Export NZ Whanganui Region has its first export training this month, August 21-23. For more information see www.whanganuichamber.org.nz

NEW ZEALAND TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Aims to help exporters

2000 customers

Crown entity with private board

36 international offices

$150 million budget

550 staff, most of them offshore