KEY POINTS:
The second Pacific Trade Expo, which starts in Auckland tomorrow, aims to address one of the region's most urgent challenges - boosting two-way trade.
New Zealand's exports to the Pacific are estimated to be worth $1.2 billion - making the region its sixth largest export destination - while Pacific nations sell goods worth a mere $160 million to New Zealand.
"The plain fact is that the more Pacific countries can earn from exports in general and from New Zealand in particular, the more they can buy from us," said Trade and Enterprise chief executive Tim Gibson.
New Zealand had a trade surplus with only two countries, the US and the nations of the Pacific. It was vital to get more New Zealand small-to-medium businesses exporting, he said.
"The opportunities are there - it's a question of taking the first step."
The smaller, closer markets of the Pacific were far less daunting for potential exporters than the US or China, he said.
Government delegations from New Caledonia, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu will attend the expo, which takes place over two days at Waitakere City's Trusts Stadium.
New Zealand Pacific Business Council chairman Gilbert Ullrich said there would also be a strong Fijian presence, despite the political situation in New Zealand's biggest single Pacific nation trading partner.
"There's a strong representation of Fiji businesses here that want to carry on and do trade with New Zealand, despite the political issues, and that's very reassuring."
Ullrich said the benefits from the first expo at Manukau City in 2006 had been immense.
"There've been a lot of new relationships formed for New Zealand right throughout the Pacific, particularly in the Guam-Micronesia area."
Michael Greenslade, New Zealand's Fiji-based trade commissioner, said the expo provided an ideal opportunity for business people in this country to create and strengthen the personal relationships invaluable to Pacific trade.
All 110 stands have been booked out, 47 of which are Pacific businesses.
Seminars include topics such as biosecurity and food safety requirements, and help for small business exporters.
