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?

China and World Trade

Another China WTO Loss. Another Nail In The Coffin Of World Trade. : China Law Blog : China Law for Business

This post on China Law Blog by Steve Dickinson is worth reading; the way that China deals with its rare earths trade has also been the subject of posts on the IELP blog. It's ironic that we read information such as this when the 2nd National China Business Symposium opens in Auckland on Thursday 1 March 2012.

This symposium is organised by the NZCTA and the New Zealand China Contemporary Research Centre specifically for those who are engaged in trade with China and for academics who wish to test academic research with what actually happens in the market place. The theme of the Symposium is Successful Branding and Channel Management in China. It will be interesting to see if concerns over China's membership of the WTO surface.

Exporting fun and fictional characters

New Zealand author Joy Cowley's character Mrs Wishy-Washy is a big export!  According to the Success feature writer Nick Smith in the New Zealand Herald last week Chinese children know who Mrs Wishy-Washy is; but not only is she known in China but in the United Arab Emirates, Korea, Canada and the US.
The Mrs Wishy-Washy series of readers for children are published by Clean Slate Press an Auckland company  New Zealand owned and operated company which publishes high-quality educational resources, both for New Zealand schools and the international market.  See http://cleanslatepress.com/
Clean Slate is now a multi-million dollar business selling titles primarily to early education markets in the US, Canada and  Australia.
Obviously the value of the export of these early education readers can be quantified, but what can't be put into dollar terms is the value of the character and its creator, Joy Cowley, for its promotion of New Zealand's creative industries.

Source: Smith, N. (2012) Lovable character key to publisher's success. In The Business Herald p.11 published Friday February 24, 2012.

Abel Tasman

Who's Abel Tasman I can hear you say?  If you are a Kiwi you should know, if you are one of our valued international readers you can be forgiven.  Here is a picture of the famous man:

and you can read more about him from the New Zealand Encyclopedia Te Ara at: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1t17/1?keys=abel+tasman

In 1642 on 13 December  in the ship Heemskerck Tasman sighted the north of the South Island of New Zealand beginning this country's long and very fruitful association with the Netherlands.
This year is the 370th anniversary of Tasman's exploration of New Zealand waters and the first recorded meeting with Maori. You can check out the website at: www.abeltasman370.com
In the year ended June 2011 our trade with the Netherlands ranked 21st after other European  countries such as Germany (7th), Italy (13th), and France (18th).  In the same statistical year New Zealand exported sheep meat products valued at 137,221 million NZ dollars to Holland.   This was an amazing increase of 59.2% over the previous year.  The next five top products after sheepmeat were: Aluminium, apples, pears and quinces, seeds, wine and onions!
On the other side of the ledger we imported food preparations, trucks and vans, retail medicines and pet food.  In fact in the year ended June 2011 there was an enormous leap in the value of pet food imports from NZD$3 million to NZD$12 million!
For any exporters who are interested in trading with the Netherlands there is the Netherlands New Zealand Business Association NLNZBA see http://www.nlnzba.com/ .  The connection started by Tasman in 1642 is obviously alive and well.  You can also be a part of the celebrations by getting in contact with Penny Griffith the Coordinator of the 370th Commemoration at: abel.tasman.370@gmail.com 

Women as Entrepreneurs and Exporters

This month at the British Library in London, the Business & IP Centre is holding a Mothers of Invention 2012 night to celebrate International Women's Month.   It features Christina Richardson, founder of The Nurture Network (Click here to read about Christina: http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/features/1094976/Week-Christina-Richardson-Nurture-Network/)  and Rosie Wolfenden of perspex jewellery company Tatty Devine https://www.tattydevine.com/.   Tatty Devine's jewellery is distributed worldwide and the brand is now a worldwide brand.
New Zealand has its own Mothers of Invention whom we should be feteing and celebrating.   Since the British Library has highlighted a jewellery company, we can match that with Kagi - a company founded by Kat Gee and  operated from Auckland.  Kagi products are stocked in retail outlets throughout Australasia and online shoppers have access through the website at http://www.kagistyle.com/.
Other examples are: Becky Sharman and Amy Whetu with their range of children's clothes - see http://www.zeezee.com  and Kim Hands producing children's graphics http://www.stickytiki.com/  and then there are the big guns in the ranks of women exporters such as Sarah Gibbs and Catherine de Groot of Trilogy, Jane Hunter of Hunter's Wines and Peri Drysdale of Snowy Peak Ltd.   Their success is now legendary.
So let us celebrate our own New Zealand women exporters and entrepreneurs this month!

Sources:
Design the key for sparkling jewellery firm by Nick Churchouse IN Dominion Post February 16, 2009 p.C1
From Fimo to fine art jewellery by Rebecca Stevenson IN Dominion Post April 11, 2011 p.C2
Turning dreams into reality - an interview with Kat Gee IN New Zealand Business March 2011 pp.12-13

Doubling Exports: How Are We Doing? | Free Enterprise

Doubling Exports: How Are We Doing? | Free Enterprise

This blogpost by John Murphy on the US site Free Enterprise contains some astonishing statistics which I don't think we need doubt the veracity of. It is indeed challenging to us in New Zealand to ask how much our own exports have increased in the same period? I don't have an answer for that.

However I can say that our neighbour Australia, like the US and Canada, is our top trading partner. Exports and imports in the period ended June 2010 were $17,435,650 millions. It is also significant that of our top ten trading partners five of them: Australia, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are countries with which we have an FTA arrangement. Trade with these partners accounts for well over half of New Zealand's trade - about 64%.

The ASEAN countries are New Zealand's fourth largest export market after the APEC countries, the OECD and the EU.

FTA Indonesia

http://ets.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?q=indonesia

Trade in fiction

This summer holiday I have had the pleasure of doing a little more reading than usual.   I was given a new New Zealand novel (2011) at Christmas called Wulf by Hamish Clayton and subsequently I have begun reading David Mitchell's 2010 novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.

Both are historical novels - the former set in the early 1830s as the tangata whenua (Maori people) began to meet and interact with European visitors.   While the novel's central focus is the Maori chief Te Rauparaha,  it also explores the role the brig Elizabeth played in the massacre of Maori by Te Rauparaha and his followers on Banks Peninsula.   The raiding party were transported to the South Island in return for a load of flax - in other words trade was at the centre of the transaction. On p.94 we read a canny assessment by a Maori commentator: 'These spirits (Europeans) have hearts made of trade and iron.   For pigs' meat they'll pay tobacco, rum, and blankets.   For flax they'll pay muskets.  Trade with them and you'll become a great chief...'

The first part of  David Mitchell's novel is located on the 'island' of Dejima in the city of Nagasaki, Japan in 1799.   The raison d'etre for this artificial island and community is the trade  between the Dutch East Indies Company and the Japanese.   Once again trade is a central thread: 'Vorstenbosch unlocks his desk and takes out a bar of Japanese copper. 'The world's reddest, its richest in gold and, for a hundred years the bride for whom we Dutch have danced in Nagasaki.'' p.34.   The Company needs to increase its trade otherwise the settlement in Batavia will fail and likely will be taken over by Britain.  

Both novels give fascinating insights into the role played by trading activities - both historically as in these novels but also in our 21st century global environment when we reflect on the reasons why certain events have happened or why this or that international trade decision was taken.

Export people - key New Zealanders

Last year I posted about Bill Buckley - exporter and New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year.   The New Year Honours List has also highlighted the importance of export people in our country and given them some recognition for the crucial role they play in the economy.

This year Howard Wright and Brendan Lindsay - both exporters - have been made members of the New Zealand Order of Merit.  Howard Wright's company Howard Wright Ltd  manufactures and exports medical equipment from New Plymouth, while Brendan Lindsay, co-founder and owner of Sistema Plastics uses robotic technology to manufacture plastics products in Auckland.   Congratulations to them both.

They are just two of the growing group of innovative, entrepreneurial and plain hard-working people who export from our country.  You can find others by searching in the New Zealand School of Export's catalogue at:
http://ets.kohalibrary.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?q=export+people




Brendan Lindsay - photo from: http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/made-in-new-zealand-winning-formula-4232962
See also the DominionPost December 31, 2011 p.B4

New Zealand School of Export turns five!

On 10 January 2007 the School's ancestor Export Training Services, started operations on a very small scale in Queen Street, Palmerston North.   Out of the foundations put in place by Export Training Services arose the New Zealand School of Export.   The School was officially opened on December 7, 2007 by the Honourable Steve Maharey, MP for Palmerston North.  By then the School's operations had moved to its current premises at Aokautere Park, east of the City.
The flagship qualification offered by the School is the Diploma of International Trade and graduates of this course are currently working in companies in New Zealand and around the world.   In 2011 the Exporter Health Check was launched and has been very successfully used in two Taranaki companies.
While the economic downturn in New Zealand and global events have undoubtedly affected the School, it has cemented its place within export training in New Zealand.   Significantly the New Zealand School of Export remains the only New Zealand organisation to be accredited by IATTO - the International Association of Trade Training Organisations.
Congratulations to all staff, adjunct faculty, graduates and current students for their hard work and commitment over the last five years. Ad Multos Annos.


Message from the Director Dr Romuald Rudzki:
As we enter 2012, it is not only the 5^th anniversary of the New Zealand School of Export but also - on 21^st December 2012 - the Mayan prophecy for the end of time (the 13^th buktun).  The first event is definitely happening, the second less definite, although both show a remarkable similarity in terms of the amount of time available to do things before the ‘Big Event’.  Whatever happens, remember the old saying ‘Nobody lay on their death-bed wishing they had spent more time at the office.’  Best Wishes for a Very Happy and Peaceful Year!