Cinderella trade agency comes in from cold

By CHRIS DANIELS

A one-time "orphan" of New Zealand Government agencies has emerged as one of the big winners from the Government's economic innovation package, announced this week.

The commitment to "aggressively start promoting New Zealand exporters" overseas has brought the work of trade promotion agency Trade NZ into the limelight.

The Government is promising to "give priority to exploring a 'beachhead' programme" in which it either leases separate premises or expands Trade NZ offices to create "incubators" for small or medium-sized businesses trying to establish themselves in overseas markets.

Such programmes will also be used to create a "forward marketing base" for new exporters.

One example of this kind of beachhead is in Singapore, where Trade NZ has been hosting New Zealand companies in a special part of the Singapore Technology Park.

The Prime Minister has also promised to "consider" increasing government support for overseas trade delegations and missions.

Trade NZ chief executive Fran Wilde said the agency was delighted at the announcement.

"Trade NZ has in the past thought of itself as a bit of a voice in the wilderness. We have always seen that there is a lot of ability in New Zealand, but less of an ability to commercialise and to market," she said.



The programme of establishing overseas beachheads allowed small companies to easily get a presence in new export markets.

New Zealand had not put as many resources into trade promotion as other countries, she said.

"We're just delighted that they're focusing on our area, because we do believe it is almost a matter of more dollars equals more returns here."

Gilbert Ullrich, managing director of Ullrich Aluminium Industries and chairman of the trade and transport committee of the Employers and Manufacturers Association, agreed that moving towards a a more aggressive approach to export promotion was only catching up with other countries.

Through a combined lack of promotion and assistance, exporting had even become "unfashionable" as a career, he said.

"From the days that we started exporting, everyone was enthusiastic, chasing up leads all around the world," he said.

"Nowadays it's in the doldrums and it's fashionable to be an importer."

Other nations had made their consular positions focus on promoting exports, but New Zealand had not kept up.

"We are just catching up with the rest of the world, but we are a long way behind them. We've been telling them these things for a long time."