KEY POINTS:
The Government yesterday extended a helping hand to New Zealand companies competing overseas, delivering a $165 million boost for firms operating in foreign markets and those exporting from home.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise got $8 million for its Beachheads programme into China, India and Southeast Asia, and another $8 million for the Better by Design programme to help companies to improve competitiveness by integrating design in to all aspects of their business.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's participation in the 2010 Shanghai Expo, which was expected to attract 70 million people, was given an additional $26.6 million.
Rick Fala, chief executive of exporter Methvyn, said the Budget had been good.
"Over the next year or two the recovery out of the global crisis will be led by export-oriented companies," Fala said. "The Asian economies are largely isolated from the credit crunch so we are looking at growing sales into China."
But New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association chief executive John Walley said money allocated to programmes - including the Fast Forward Fund and Better by Design - was not sufficient to offset the damage caused by high interest rates driving speculative pressure on exchange rates.
"We share the Government's hope that the tax cuts and the heavy social spend will not be inflationary, however the markets see it otherwise and this will adversely impact returns to exporters."
Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said action on exports would be helpful as long as it was allocated properly.
"One of the problems we've seen with export assistance is that some of it is not as tightly targeted or as strategically aligned as it might be.
"If it's going to be given out to individual companies who might do something that the Government considers sexy, I think that would a poor use of that expenditure."
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said there were some good specific initiatives.
"I liked the Better by Design programme, there were some good items in there for exporters and any increase in exports is going to be good for the port."
