Exporters are 'taking trade in the Pacific for granted'

Exporters were yesterday warned they could not afford to be complacent about trade in the Pacific.

The president of the Pacific Island Business Council, Gilbert Ullrich, said New Zealand was taking trade for granted in the region, despite increasing competition from Australia and Asia.

He made his comments during a visit to New Caledonia by a delegation of business people, academics and officials headed by Foreign Minister Phil Goff.

"We are seeing a lot more competition," Ullrich said. "Australia is very pro-active."

The managing director of Ullrich Aluminium said he had been trading in the Pacific for 30 years.

He welcomed the opportunity for business people in the last few years to accompany Goff in his trade visits around the Pacific.

Ullrich saw the potential for greater trade opportunities with the French territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia, despite the preference for European Union products.

"New Zealand products have a duty which means they have got to be competitive price wise. It makes it hard."

John Nicholson, senior trade commissioner at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, agreed that countries such as Australia were proving increasingly competitive in the Pacific.

"It is the backyard of both countries," he said.

China, Korea and other Asian countries were also getting more heavily involved in trade in the region. Nicholson said the norms, or codes and regulations demanded by France to sell products in its territories was an issue that needed working on.

NZTE international market manager Australia and Pacific Ian Macintosh said there would always be trade imbalances with the smaller Pacific countries.

"But it is important to keep things reasonable and find initiatives to improve Pacific island capacity."

Ruth Sami, managing director of Microbyte Systems, said such trips were practical because of the plane travel not usually available directly between some Pacific islands.

Her company had exported "everything" from computer hardware and industrial equipment to a cruise liner and a school bell in the Pacific.

Others on the trip wanted to increase market access to produce such as carrots, onions and potatoes and those in the marine industry saw opportunities in boat building and marina construction.