NZ Wine in China

Congratulations to Patricia Miranda of Yealands Estate in Marlborough (wife of one of our exporters doing the Diploma of International Trade).  Patricia has been chosen to take part in the Ningxia Wine Challenge and will be representing New Zealand.  For more details have a look at the 'Grape Wall of China' wine blog at: http://www.grapewallofchina.com/2012/08/02/ningxia-wine-challenge-the-expert-panel-selects-ten-candidates/
You go girl!

Telecom and Pacific Fibre UFB

In the wonderful world of free markets, it is interesting to note that attempts to provide a second UFB link to the US from New Zealand have failed with Pacific Fibre's announcement on 1st August 2012 that it has been unable to secure the USD 400 million needed.  This leaves foreign-owned Telecom as the only provider.  Telecom is the same company which has been repeatedly fined for breaches of the Commerce Act, the latest being a record NZD 12 million fine for 'unlawfully charging competitors disproportionately high prices for wholesale access to its network.'   One can only hope that the same thing will not happen again.This is also the same Telecom which is also receiving over NZD 1.2 billion from the government for a new telephone network, when the  UK's Orange network has invested GBP 1.5 million for its 3G network.  (Since when was the free market about monopoly power - I thought that was a bad thing when governments did it?)

2012 Business Scholarships Open

The Prime Minister has announced the opening of the 2012 Business Scholarships, so if you want to study international business overseas, check this out:

http://www.med.govt.nz/business/business-growth-internationalisation/prime-ministers-business-scholarships

Don't forget to checkwww.export.ac.nz for scholarships to study the Diploma of International Trade in New Zealand.

2012 Transit of Venus Forum, Gisborne, New Zealand

On the 5-8 June 2012 Gisborne will host this unique event to mark the meeting of cultures which took place 250 years ago on New Zealand's East Coast. This was in 1769 shortly after James Cook completed his scientific mission in Tahiti: the measurement of the Transit of Venus.  Goods were exchanged at Uawa, Tolaga Bay, as gestures of goodwill, but also out of necessity, so it was the beginning of overseas trade. The association between the forum and the rare occurrence of the Transit of Venus is symbolic, but it is underlined by  the sub-title of the Forum: Lifting our Horizon.

Professor Sir Paul Callaghan and partners are staging a forum in Gisborne to inspire thinking about New Zealand’s future prospects, based on a realistic, science-based appraisal of our current situation.  Sir Paul Callaghan has brought together a very significant  group of New Zealanders for this event.  Exporters and those involved in international trade will be especially interested to see that Sir Ray Avery (entrepreneur and exporter), Dr Rick Boven (Director of the NZ Institute thinktank), and Peter Chrisp (CEO of New Zealand Trade & Enterprise) are all on the programme which can be found at:  http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/events/2012-transit-of-venus-forum-lifting-our-horizon/speakersprogramme/
The website itself is well worth looking at with video clips outlining Sir Paul's vision. Watch the website and this blog for more information.

Leader of the Opposition talks about export industries and companies

On 15th March 2012 the Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition David Shearer spoke to the Cullen Breakfast Club.  His talk was entitled A new New Zealand.   In it he said:

If we're going to have those 10,000 high value export companies,

If we're going to have those high value export industries developing,

Then we have to do a much better job of education than we are right now.

From: http://labour.org.nz/newnz

We will await the details and policy of how David Shearer and his party will get those 10,000 high value export companies and how New Zealanders will be educated for that development.

Infoshare - a tool for exporters - YouTube video

Ever tried to use Statistics New Zealand's tool Infoshare and had difficulty?   You  might be interested in this YouTube video put up by Stats New Zealand entitled Build a table of overseas trade (import/export) data which you can find on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r04oLlK9B8

This video is one of five which will help you to use Infoshare.  This tool contains the most up-to-date information from Statistics New Zealand's official statistics.

Here's An Idea

Photo source: Port of Tauranga

 Prompted by the current wave of industrial unrest at the Ports of Auckland,  it has occurred to me that maybe there should only be one major port in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand  and that this should be at the Port of Tauranga.
Auckland on the Waitemata Harbour could become a freight collection centre and Auckland and the Port of Tauranga could be linked by a yet to be constructed new high-speed rail line for freight.  This line would be  a new route and would be more direct than the current route via Hamilton. This would have a number of benefits:

• it would consolidate Tauranga's position as a port and port city 
• it would mean that shipping companies could focus on one port in the north of New Zealand
• since Tauranga is more or less equidistant between Auckland and Hamilton it would draw on both cities and regions
• construction of a high speed rail link between the two cities would provide jobs for the construction industries
• Auckland City could focus on its relationship with its harbour which is in danger of being eroded as the Port indicates that it needs further land for development.

In 2011 container volumes at the Port of Tauranga rose by 15% and represented more than 40% of the Port's total trade.  Transhipped tonnage also increased in 2011 as did transhipped containers.

Information Source: Stevenson, R. (2011) Focus on container trade brings 'cracker' result for Port of Tauranga. IN Dominion Post 19 August p.C1

What do you think?