Gifts from the Magi - Export Products

‘After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east… Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. .. he sent them on to Bethlehem… and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary… Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.                                  Matthew 2: 1-12

Image: www.sxc.hu/photo/416373

The treasures of the Wise Men were thought to be from Arabia and almost certainly were products that were traded at the time of Jesus’ birth. Gold represented Jesus' Kingship. What of them now as export products?

New Zealand has its own gold mines and history of gold mining.   It continues to export gold and in 2008 gold exports to the world were valued at US$369,763,250; this was an increase in value from the previous year when our gold exports were valued at US$200,842,188 (Source: UN Comtrade database).  

New Zealand's largest gold producer is OceanaGold which operates mines at Reefton on the West Coast and at Macraes in North Otago.  It was expecting to produce between 280,000 and 300,000 ounces this year - more than ever it has produced.

Figures Factsheet - New Zealand's Top Ten Exports 1999-2009 FREE!

Photographer: Robert Percy Moore Cambridge Co-operative Dairy Co, Hautapu, between 1923-1928.  

Panoramic negative Reference No. Pan-0545-F.   Photographic Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand.  No known copyright restrictions.  Source: Commons on Flickr

If you are interested in the latest Factsheet from the New Zealand School of Export download it now from: http://www.export.ac.nz/freedownloads.html

Google Book Search and ‘Exporting’ New Zealand books

You may be aware that on November 9, 2009 the US Authors’ Guild and the Association of American Publishers were scheduled to file a settlement to resolve their suit against Google for alleged breach of copyright in its programme to digitise millions of books and make them available for a fee online.

Google has already digitised over ten million books.  The New York Review of Books has published a feature article by Robert Darnton entitled Google and the new Digital Future which surveys and summarises this issue as it is being played out in the US.  You can find it at: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23518

How does this affect New Zealand authors and their books?  Does it mean that Google will be able to make money from our authors and their works, when we should be able to sell or give them to the world ourselves?  In fact New Zealand has been left out of the deal and Google will only scan and sell book registered with the US Copyright Office or published in Britain, Australia and Canada.

Claire McEntee explains the situation clearly in her article Kiwi authors want to call the shots online  which can be found at http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3086310/Google-books-row-explained  if you want to check it out.   I think it is worth a read.

Radio New Zealand National : Programmes A-Z : Morning Report

Radio New Zealand National : Programmes A-Z : Morning Report - 2025 Taskforce Report

I found this segment on Radio New Zealand this morning interesting. Included in the audio clip are Dr Don Brash, the Hon. Bill English with more extended comments from Roger Kerr of the Business Roundtable and from Bryan Gould formerly Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato and British MP. Of these two comentators Dr Gould was the only one who spoke logically about the way exports could play a part in the achieving the broad aims of the 2025 Taskforce. What do you think? http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/mnr/2009/12/01/2025_taskforce_too_radical_-_bill_english Click on this link to hear the audio.

Reports, Presentations and Speeches from the Taskforce - 2025 Taskforce

Reports, Presentations and Speeches from the Taskforce - 2025 Taskforce

There has been a great deal in the media since the 2025 Taskforce report was issued. If you wanted to check the report for yourself here is the page to go to - click on the heading above.

Directories don’t make you money!

Directories don’t make you money!

The New Zealand School of Export has linked to a number of Directories and these are listed on our web page: http://www.export.ac.nz/directories.html. Just last night I was looking at this page and wondering about the value of being listed in them. This morning I read this post by John Reed of Exportaid (UK) and thought it was worth sharing.

New Zealand companies linking with China

In yesterday's Dominion Post there was a snippet about a Marlborough company called Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation which has teamed up with Chinese company Greenleaf Environmental of Sichuan.   The two companies are investgating sites in China for the Blenheim (New Zealand) based company's fuel-from-algae technology.  Aquaflow think they are the first environmentally focused company to move into that region of China.
In 2008 Rakon established a joint venture with Shenzhen, China company Timemaker Crystal Technology.  How many other New Zealand companies are working in collaborative ventures like these?  Does anyone know of a directory or list of such companies?  If so it would be really useful to be able to publicise such  a resource, as it may help companies thinking about expansion to China to contact experienced New Zealand business people and avoid mistakes and get tips.

New Zealand School of Export is having a video made!

The video production crew from Made from New Zealand were at the School last week - making a video. As soon as it's ready, this will be on our website to view, so come back soon!

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009

Global Entrepreneurship Week 16-22 November 2009


This website http://www.unleashingideas.org/?_c=1  has a global round-up on events. Here is the New Zealand listing of all the events taking place around the country: http://www.unleashingideas.org/newzealand?_c=1   There has also been publicity of the GEW in the newspapers - today's Dominion Post featured David ten Have and his company Ponoko.com.   David is a former Palmerston North resident and student at St Peter's College.

 Have a look at all the events that are planned in the UK during the week – all 2936 of them!http://www.gew.org.uk/  and here is an American site with a focussed section on the week including a podcast from Hilary Clinton on the Week:
http://www.entrepreneurship.org/FeaturedEvent/GlobalEntrepreneurshipWeek.html

We Must Trade or Fade

Image www.voxeu.org/files/image/baldwin_spaghetti.JPG

This quip attributed to John F Kennedy in the early 1960s, certainly doesn’t apply to New Zealand at the moment in terms of the deals it is negotiating.

It seems like New Zealand and the world are rushing into trade agreements left, right and centre. For example here is a Youtube clip in which the Canadian Minister for Trade sums up what his country has been doing: http://www.youtube.com/user/commerceCDA

The WTO in the RTA section of its website, has a useful map: http://rtais.wto.org/UI/PublicSearchByMember.aspx   It lists all the trade agreements of WTO members. While it is not up to date and doesn’t include New Zealand’s newest FTA with Hong Kong, it does help to give the world context for the rush into trade agreements.

By clicking on to the map of Canada using the reference above, you will see that Canada has six FTAs listed plus seven new ones announced.

Can you imagine trying to map all the links that there are as well as putting all the new ones in. It has been tried as you can see from the image above and this is only North America. The article by Richard Baldwin which goes with this image – is worth reading. Here is the URL:

http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/959

Among the points that Richard Baldwin makes is that: ‘While the spaghetti bowl [development of free trade agreements] is a problem for firms in big nations, it is much more so for firms in poor nations. Rich nations have the resources and negotiating leverage to navigate the tangle’s worse effects. The governments of small and poor nations do not. The spaghetti bowl falls much harder on the heads of the world’s small and poor nations.’

As we live in the South Pacific with small, poor nations as neighbours, it is worth giving the ‘spaghetti bowl’ more than a passing thought. What are yours?

Congratulations go to Greg Canty, Technical Officer within the Global Inventory Team at Fonterra’s Whareroa site who has also recently completed the Diploma of International Trade!

Congratulations Yovitha Ramkolowan-Dale on being awarded the New Zealand School of Export Diploma of International Trade!

The New Zealand School of Export has introduced a new Jobs Page - recruit through the site and get 5% discount off course fees!

Factsheet series continues: American Samoa

Image from: http://www.anyflag.com/state/amsomoa.htm

A new factsheet on exporting to American Samoa is now available from the New Zealand School of Export FREE downloads page at:

http://www.export.ac.nz/freedownloads.html

Trade Commissioners - Trademakers

Recently a history of the New Zealand Trade Commissioner Service was published entitled: Agents Abroad. Exporters frantically involved in getting their products to market will probably say ‘I haven’t got time for history!


It does however highlight the role that the New Zealand Trade Commissioners play in developing or ‘making’ our international trade happen. You can find out whether your export destination has a trade commissioner you can contact by using the MFAT site:

http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Embassies/1-NZ-representatives-overseas/index.php

Ever wondered what a Trade Commissioner actually does? Read our interview with Anne Chappaz, former New Zealand Trade Commissioner in Vancouver on the New Zealand School of Export website: http://www.export.ac.nz/freedownloads.html

By the way the book is fascinating – did you know that in 1901 Graham Gow was appointed as a New Zealand trade representative and he went around the world for the next 12 years searching for new markets for New Zealand products? It is available through the ELIS catalogue.

Intellectual Copyright and Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)

Mark Harris will be interviewed on Kim Hill's Saturday morning programme  on Radio New Zealand National this coming Saturday October 24^th, 2009.  He will be speaking about ACTA and argues that the proposed regime could overlap with existing New Zealand copyright legislation and confuse principles already established by international bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

His submission on the Proposed Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to the New Zealand Government  is available at:

http://acta.lemming-brothers.com/tiki-index.php?page=Completed+Submission

Might be worth listening to since intellectual property is such an important aspect of international trade.

Trade in Services - Untapped Potential

There seems to be a continuing and exclusive focus on the export of goods. Even in a recent column by John Carran in the Dominion Post October 10, 2009 entitled No economic salvation likely from goods exports alone where the title seems to suggest there could be other kinds of exports which will help New Zealand, trade in services gets very little support.

This is in spite of the fact that the services share of New Zealand’s total exports is about 26% and the March 2009 Balance of Payments figures show there was an increase in the export of services. Charles Finny of the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce said in a press release on 25 June 2009 that ‘New Zealand exported $2.9 billion of services excluding transport and travel in the last 12 months. The range of services in this category includes:

Computer, financial, telecommunications, legal, advertising, architectural, film production, engineering and many other services.’

Is it time for exporters of services to bring some balance to the push for an export-driven recovery?

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/135412439/ 20-foot (1 TEU) containers stacked in Alameda, California (Creative Commons-licensed content for noncommercial use requiring attribution)

Quality Web Content - free web writing guide for web portal content writers and web content providers

Quality Web Content - free web writing guide for web portal content writers and web content providers

This is one of Rachel McAlpine's websites - described as a 'one-stop shop for free articles and web content. It is a commercial site - she offers training courses, but the free articles are well worth looking at if your company is putting up a new website, or writing new material for one of your export products.

I have been reading her book Better Business writing on the Web and found it useful and challenging. These free articles might be an easier start.

Rachel is the Director of Quality Web Content Ltd, and is a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise E-business Guide Vendor.

Fiji Fast Facts - Fiji Islands Trade and Investment Bureau

Fiji Fast Facts - Fiji Islands Trade and Investment Bureau

This website includes a series of more than 34 Factsheets about Fiji's trade partners including New Zealand. They are updated biannually in June and December. Each one give general information about the country, economic indicators for that country, Fiji's trade and investment relationship and Top 3 information:
* Top 3 exports
* Top 3 export destinations
* Top 3 imports
* Top 3 imported goods
Each Factsheet is a one-pager and could be printed and filed into a country folder or saved into your Knowledge Management system.

GuruOnline | Free Video Based Business Advice

GuruOnline | Free Video Based Business Advice

This is FREE video-based advice service made available by the Royal Bank of Scotland - there are 611 short videos in the Trade Advice section with more available under International Marketing, Finance, World Region, and Language & Translation. While the focus is on the UK exporter, there is still very useful information here.

Entrepreneurship hmmm...

Photo by Sushrutha Metikurke from http://sushrutha.blogspot.com and used with permission. Wind turbines at Te Apiti Wind Farm near Woodville 12 September 2009

Plenty of entrepreneurship involved in setting up these wind farms northeast of Palmerston North I would think. But what does entrepreneurship really mean?
There is a report by Jenny Keown in the Dominion Post today page C1, in which Sam Morgan (ex TradeMe) is interviewed. He says that he does not like the term entrepreneur, particularly when it is applied to him.

For exporters entrepreneurship is a key factor - what does it mean in international trade?

Sam Morgan is quoted as saying "For me, an entrepreneur is a business person who is yet to be successful. We are still struggling for a common defintion of what an entrepreneur is." When really pushed he said:

"Someone who builds a meaningful business to make a tonne of money is an entrepreneur"

What does the export/import industry think? Post your comment below.

Words That Matter

Image source: http://www.worldaccent.com/blog/2008/09/mark-international-translation-day-with.html

Yesterday was International Translation Day. It may have been over-shadowed sadly by the tragic events in the Pacific as a result of the tsunami. Or if you were in Auckland by the Go Global Forum.

For the exporter going into a new market there are Words That Matter: publicity brochures, draft contracts, contracts of sale, legal agreements and letters of credit. Where English is not the language of business, translation is vital.

This is an area where exporters and others can fall into traps and ruin their chances of building a relationship and making a successful deal. Dennis Brown the Managing Director of Pacific International Translations (NZ) Ltd. has compiled a list of the six mistakes that can be made in getting business documents translated:

1. Using someone who is not a translator
2. Using someone translating into his/her second language
3. Using a translator who is out of his/her depth
4. Inadequate checking and editing
5. Imposing a time frame that is too tight
6. Not using a professional translation service

For the full article in pdf format: The six biggest mistakes in getting business documents translated (and how to avoid them) go to: http://www.pactrans.co.nz/translation/6%20Worst%20Mistakes.pdf (With permission from the Author)

Machine translation such as is used by Google, does not take into account the context of the document as it was written or the context in which it will be read so that issues of vocabulary and appropriate style are ignored. It may of course give some indication of the meaning of a document so that an exporter would know what he/she is dealing with, before a professional translation is requested.

Incidentally the translation day was established in 1991 by the Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (International Federation of Translators). The date of 30 September was chosen as it is the feast day of St. Jerome (347-420 AD), patron saint of translators, interpreters and librarians. The day celebrates and promotes translation as an essential activity in contemporary society – but one which too often remains invisible and ignored.

Each year a particular theme, highlighting a different area of translation, is adopted – with this year's being "Terminology: Words Matter". As the Federation put it, "the specific need is for words that matter, words that describe a previously identified concept and that contribute to the clarity and effectiveness of communication in a given field of expertise, environment or community."

EXPORTER magazine

Having had a rant earlier this month about the demise of Bright magazine which was published by NZTE, it behoves me to set the picture straight and write a post about Exporter magazine. Issue 12 (September Quarter 2009) is a great collection of articles ranging from IP through to trade fairs and managing expenses. An article on exporter education includes the New Zealand School of Export and its Diploma of International Trade: http://www.export.ac.nz/

If you haven't read Exporter and want to try it out, there is a sample issue (issue 10) on the website at: http://www.mygazines.net/publication/935
From the online version you can save articles, share articles with friends, social bookmark pages or download the pdf. Of course the ideal would be a subscription to get all the material.

Better By Design Resources

In the TraLIS blog http://tralis.blogspot.com/"> which I manage, I started a series of posts on Trade Library & Information Services worldwide. Better By Design - a New Zealand organisation dedicated to helping businesses with a range of design issues, also has a small video collection in their Media Library. The videos are available for anyone to watch and therefore are not just a librarian's resource. They include New Zealand exporting companies Comvita and Methven and well worth a look. You need this URL as there is no button from the home page: http://www.betterbydesign.org.nz/news-and-resources/media-library

NEW! Samoa Factsheet from New Zealand School of Export

Flag of Samoa image courtesy of 4 International Flags

A new Factsheet for exporters considering Samoa as a new market opportunity is now available from the New Zealand school of Export website: http://www.export.ac.nz/freedownloads.html

BRIGHT magazine

BRIGHT magazine published by New Zealand Trade & Enterprise has issued its last number: Issue 35. It was published from 2003 through to August-September 2009. These were six years of really interesting profiles of countries and exporting companies, plus pieces by regular columnists such as Ed Bernacki and Ganesh Nana. Not only were they interesting but also useful for the exporter and international trade educator. The demise of BRIGHT, even although NZTE has developed an e-newsletter called Exportnews, leaves a real gap. Is this a product of the Government's new broom, the economic downturn, or the perceived need to publish electronically?

What do you think? Will you miss BRIGHT or have I got it wrong?

Do you have cultural savvy?

Cultural considerations are a very significant and integral part of the way we do international trade. A key to successful meetings with potential export partners is preparation. Knowing some basic information about the country and the culture you are hoping to enter with your product, is crucial to success. Knowing how to greet your hosts, how to dress, when public holidays are, and what their important cultural values are, will all help to make a visit successful, even if you don’t get the deal you want at first meeting.

Intercultural communication is central to your negotiation strategies. The communication may not always be in the boardroom or the CEO’s office.

The photo above shows a cherry blossom tree usually associated with Japan, in full bloom. This tree is not in Japan as can be seen from the church in the background – it is in fact in Cheviot, North Canterbury, New Zealand and the photo was taken on September 4^th.

If this was spring in Japan, you may be invited to share hanami celebrations with your hosts underneath the flowering trees in one of Japan’s many city parks or out in the countryside. Sharing food and drink together may be the key to your export success.

Hanami or blossom viewing lasts from February to April beginning with plum blossom in February, peach blossom in March and cherry blossom in late March or early April. Because Japan extends through 22 degrees of latitude blossom viewing is literally a moveable feast and there is a cherry blossom forecast.

In the larger cities, for example, Kyoto, you may find it very difficult to make hotel bookings or train/airline reservations at cherry blossom time. The first-time exporter to Japan should be aware of the importance of this time to the Japanese and the difficulties of arranging travel and meetings at this time.

Later in April there is also Golden Week which extends into May and includes three public holidays – this is a time to be avoided.

Awareness of and experience with cultural issues is an area which those involved in international trade must all know very well. Cultural knowledge is an area which can be shared so that we learn from one another and don’t put our ’feet in it’. Do you have experiences or tips which you would like to pass on to new exporters? What about sharing them and posting a comment.

Scholarships for the Diploma of International Trade

Are you and 'Early Bird' or an 'export team' and want to study for the Diploma of International Trade with the New Zealand School of Export?

Did you know there are scholarships available from the School to assist you? For more information look at the website www.export.ac.nz and contact the School NOW for October 1st enrolments.

Photo: Marie-Louise Siddle. Gulls on the Wellington Waterfront 2009

Re-energising the Doha Round of Trade Talks

Logo from www.wto.org

Some readers of this blog may have noticed in the local media last week, mention of the restarting of the Doha Talks. Since then there has been almost nothing. In fact the talks are scheduled to resume formally on September 14 in Geneva. There was a Ministerial meeting held in New Delhi, India on September 3rd and 4th, between India and various regional blocs such as CARICOM on how to cater for the interests of the least developed countries and to ensure that their issues and concerns are addressed.

The latest official news on the Doha Round can be found at the WTO website: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm. This includes an audio statement from Pascal Lamy.

Exporting to Oz?

Here is a great little article: "A few small tips for New Zealand companies about the Australian market" from Businesstalk - http://businessblogs.co.nz

PACER Plus

Image: Members of the Pacific Island Forum. Source: Wikipedia

The 40th meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in Cairns, Australia agreed to begin negotiations on PACER Plus - a free trade agreement between members of the PIF but at the moment excluding Fiji.

This is an important decision highlighting New Zealand's export trade to the Pacific as well as concerns from a number of organizations about the effect of such an FTA on members. Already New Zealand and Australia have been labelled as 'trade bullies'.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has published a piece on PACER Plus at: www.dfat.gov.au/geo/spacific/pacer/ but MFAT does not yet have a document on the proposed agreement.

There is also a useful background paper entitled 'PACER: a plus or negative?' on the Islandsbusiness website at:
http://www.islandsbusiness.com/islands_business/index_dynamic/containerNameToReplace=MiddleMiddle/focusModuleID=17625/overideSkinName=issueArticle-full.tpl

'Islands Business' has a wealth of information about PACER and is also accessible through ELIScat, alongwith other background material on PACER.

Is it a step forward or back for the Pacific?

Setting New Zealand Apart

Close-up view of a Port Chalmers wharf and ships loading, 1870s

Photographer: David De Maus Close-up view of a Port Chalmers wharf and ships loading, 1870s National Library of New Zealand on the Commons Photostream. No known copyright restriction.

Setting New Zealand Apart – Business New Zealand recently issued this “Plan for Action” – it deals with five key drivers of the New Zealand economy and has a 50 point productivity plan. It is available from the website as a pdf document:
http://www.businessnz.org.nz/file/1702/SETTING%20NZ%20APART.pdf

Since the document is undated it is difficult to know if this Plan came first, or whether the Government’s announcement of the appointment of Dr Don Brash as head of a task force called Task Force 2025 to increase New Zealand’s productivity came first. This plan (Point 1) calls for a New Zealand Productivity Commission ‘to keep on top of new regulation and review existing regulation’. Is it a Rodney Hide inspired document?

Some of the points such as 49 ‘Support green innovation and technology, and support business in complying with global standards’ I can agree with. But others such as Point 32 ‘Shift tertiary investment to qualifications focused on business and economic needs’ cut across my educational philosophy. We already have an education system in which learning of foreign languages is becoming less popular and hence less viable. But what an important skill for an exporter or importer it is!
Not one of the 50 points mentions the word ‘exports’ although points 43, 44 and 46 are related to international trade, points 44 and 46 focusing on what NZTE should be doing. To be fair the section preceding the 50 point Plan entitled International connections does begin with the statement “Trade is vital for New Zealand’s future” p.22.
There is no mention of the tangata whenua or for that matter the Pacific or Pasifika. The title of the Plan is ‘Setting New Zealand Apart’ – we are already set apart because of our cultural heritage and situation. This Plan seems to exist in a cultural vacuum.
I’m sure others involved in international trade will have some views on the Plan and its implementation – it would be great to read them!

The Plan is also available from the New Zealand School of Export collection.

Our Latest Graduate

If you missed NZI Business on TV One last Wednesday, here is another opportunity for you to catch our latest graduate Ian Walton of Atrax Group:

http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/nzi-business-july-29-export-school-graduate-atrax-takes-product-world-3-11-2878527/video

New York, New York

International trade professionals have a number of very helpful and information packed portals such as ELIS which they can tap into for information. As well as these portals, large public libraries may have business services which often provide useful information and assistance. A good example of a well-established service is the New York Public Library. It has a guide entitled: 'International Trade: a Resource Guide" which is downloadable from the site:

www.nypl.org/research/sibl/trade/tradeprint.html

It has a bias towards American sources but for a Southern Hemisphere exporter hoping to enter the North American market this could prove very helpful.

Maori Language Week|Te Wiki o te Reo Maori

Māori Language Week has been celebrated for over 30 years, so join in 2009.
The Māori Language Week theme for 2009 is "Te Reo i te Hapori - Māori Language in the Community."
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 27 Hōngongoi - 2 Here-turi-kōkā 2009 Māori Language Week 27 July - 2 August 2009

The collage above is from the Korero Maori site Pakihi - For Businesses which has some really useful information for businesses:

* How to find a translator
* Checklist for assessing your business reo
* Ideas for using Te Reo Maori in your business
* Examples and case studies from businesses which use Te Reo.

The website is:
http://www.korero.maori.nz/forbusiness

In the ELIS catalogue we have begun to use Maori subject headings:
Umanga = business
Tauhokohoko = trade

These headings are from Ngā Ūpoko Tukutuku - the thesaurus used by the National Library of New Zealand.

Weightless Economy

Feather on the shore Wellington Harbour near Waitangi Park.

Photo by Marie-Louise Siddle 2009.

Prime Minister John Key delivered a speech on New Zealand's economic performance to a business audience in Wellington on Wednesday 15th July.
It outlined six main policy drivers for the Government -- regulatory reform, infrastructure investment, better public services, education and skills, innovation and a world-class tax system. John Key said the tradable sector of the economy, which includes agriculture, tourism, forestry and manufacturing, has effectively been in recession for five years.
There was no specific mention of assistance to, or ideas for the export sector. The sectors mentioned by John Key in his speech focus still on New Zealand’s traditional areas. What about the weightless economy? It would seem that the series of Discussion Papers on the New Zealand economy put out by the New Zealand Institute’s Director David Skilling have been shelved. In a presentation which he made in 2007 David Skilling says:
‘New Zealand is more likely to succeed in weightless goods and services: adding knowledge-based value to physical products, developing business models that locate production process offshore, as well as producing services that can be transported virtually.’ Creating the weightless economy: positioning New Zealand to compete in the global economy. Unpublished presentation.
David Skilling’s Discussion Paper series are available through the ELIS catalogue.

Beyond the Farm...

The Paul Callaghan Interviews are a series in which science communicator Professor Paul Callaghan talks with New Zealand entrepreneurs and scientists about the way forward for our economy and society. Two episodes in particular feature New Zealand exporters and exporting companies:

Episode 4: Paul talks to Michael Chick of Tait Electronics and Mike Daniell of Fisher and Paykel Healthcare

Episode 8: Paul talks to Neville Jordan of Endeavour Capital and Andrew Coy of Magritek.

Both can be viewed at: http://www.hotscience.co.nz/extrasciencevideos.php?videotypeid=3&hdrcode=4 and can be downloaded freely.

This series is accompanied by Paul Callaghan's book
Wool to weta: transforming New Zealand's culture & economy which is available from ELIS.

Engaging exporters

"CEOs call for collaboration among exporters
Chief Executive Officers from across New Zealand have called for greater cooperation among exporters, including the possible use of social networking websites.

This suggestion was one of the recommendations from participants in the CEO Forums held in seven locations across the country from March to May 2009.

The idea was put forward that Export New Zealand could identify the top 50 exporters in consultation with NZTE, and then provide online and physical environments for them to engage with each other in.

Providing social networking tools for employees at different levels within exporting companies was raised as a means of sharing market intelligence."

The above is an extract from a piece reporting a series of forums held throughout New Zealand for CEOs and published in Export News at:
http://www.nzte.govt.nz/features-commentary/In-Brief/Pages/CEOs-call-for-collaboration-among-exporters.aspx

At the New Zealand School of Export we think this blog could be used for exporters to engage. What do you think - we'd like to hear from employees in exporting companies.

Potatoes for export

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/rural/2552428/Psyllid-damage-hits-potato-yield

This article highlights a potentially damaging disease which has hit some potato growers. 33% of New Zealand's potato crop is exported

http://www.potatoesnz.co.nz/ This website which 'represents the interests of New Zealand's seed, table, and process potato growers' is very informative and provides easily accessible statistics. Did you know that

* in March 2009 New Zealand potato growers exported 1.8 million kgs of potatoes to Fiji

* the value of New Zealand's potato exports in 2008 was more than NZ$83 million (FOB)

* Canterbury has the largest area of potato growing

* the 7th World Potato Congress was held in Canterbury in March 2009.

DS367

This is the number for the "apple access case" between Australia and New Zealand which will be aired at the WTO headquarters in Geneva beginning on Tuesday June 30,2009. New Zealand apples have been banned in Australia for 88 years because of the presence of the disease fireblight in New Zealand. Details of the dispute can be found at the WTO site at:

http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/cases_e/ds367_e.htm

The mural “Le bienfait des loisirs”, painting by Gustave-Louis Jaulmes, Salle des Pas Perdus in the WTO Building in Geneva with its very peaceful and pastoral scene certainly belies the difficulties of this case from New Zealand's point of view.

Export school critical to wine company survival

Thanks to Michael Putt, one of our graduates, for his interview with The Independent last week. We really appreciate your support Michael and wish you every success in your export business.

Close(r) to home

"Traditionally, most of Australia 's imports come from overseas."

--Kep Enderbery

In February I posted a supposed quote from former US President George W. Bush along similar lines. Kep Enderbery was a former Australian cabinet minister, Attorney General and judge. Variations on this have obviously been attributed to many politicians.