29 July 2008 Speech
Clayton Cosgrove’s speech to the Canterbury Export Awards 2008
Venue: Christchurch Convention Centre, Christchurch
Time: 7.30pm, 29 July 2008
Mayor Bob Parker and Mayoress Joanna Parker; Hon Ruth Richardson; Bob Walters, Chief Executive Officer of Export New
Zealand; Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce President David Halstead and Chief Executive Peter Townsend; John
Payne, President for the Canterbury Region of Export New Zealand; Maurice Noone Office Managing Partner,
PriceWaterhouseCooper; my Parliamentary colleagues; members of the Canterbury business community; special guests; ladies
and gentlemen.
Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to speak at this year’s Canterbury Export Awards ceremony. It is always
encouraging to see New Zealand businesses achieving success in the global marketplace.
Last year, my colleague Trade Minister Phil Goff spoke about Export Year 2007.
As a joint initiative between the Government and the private sector, it provided an important focus on exporting and the
challenges that New Zealand faces.
The work continues for both government and business to build our economy into one that can successfully compete with the
rest of the world.
The passing of the New Zealand China Free Trade Agreement in Parliament last week was an important development. China is
the fastest growing major economy in the world, currently growing at 9.5 percent each year. China is already our third
largest trading partner. Its middle class is now estimated to be more than 100 million people and growing – which will
fuel the demand for New Zealand’s exports of goods and services. There should also be opportunities for investment in
both directions.
Chinese tariffs on New Zealand products cost exporters almost $120 million each year. The Agreement will remove tariffs
on 96 percent of New Zealand’s current exports to China and will deliver significant gains for our exporters. The
removal of the remaining New Zealand tariffs on Chinese imports will be done in such a way as to allow New Zealand
industry time to adapt.
The removal of Chinese tariffs under the Agreement are expected to result in a far greater increase in New Zealand
exports to China than Chinese exports to New Zealand, in significant part because Chinese tariff levels are currently
higher than those of New Zealand.
The Agreement also promotes co-operation in a broad range of areas, including intellectual property. It provides a
platform for further engagement at the governmental, cultural, and people-to-people levels.
As Minister for Small Business, I am pleased to say that the China Free Trade Agreement holds huge potential for all New
Zealand businesses, including our small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs). In fact that the China Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) contains a whole section (Article 176) in which the New Zealand and the Chinese governments have committed
themselves to undertake a range of activities designed to promote a favourable trading environment specifically for the
development of SMEs and to build the capacity of SMEs to trade effectively under the FTA. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade is co-ordinating the government initiatives in this area.
Some of you here tonight will have participated in the recent FTA road show.
The Navigating China website is also a fantastic resource. The China FTA is part of a wider focus for the government on
Asia, which includes the expansion of the Beachheads programme in China, the opening of up to five more offices in China
over the next four years, a greater New Zealand presence at trade shows like Food and Hotel Asia, and a commitment to a
concept centre in Shanghai.
With the Shanghai Expo only two years away, there is further opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s commitment to
forming long term relationships in China.
New opportunities for free trade agreements are also being explored and progressed with Korea, Japan and India and they
have gained some momentum from the success of completing the China FTA.
I am sure that many of you here tonight are looking at ways to seize the opportunity that these developments in Asia and
in other markets will offer your businesses.
Free trade agreements are one part of the process of building our economy into one that can successfully compete with
the rest of the world. New Zealand also needs to move beyond the traditional concept of simply ‘exporting’ and instead
‘think globally’ in all aspects of business – global customers, global competitors and global strategies.
It is great to see that many Canterbury firms are getting out there and seeing what opportunities the world has to offer
them – a fact reflected in some recent statistics. For example, I see that the annual average growth rate in the value
of exports conveyed abroad from Canterbury ports was a healthy 6.2 percent for the year ended April 2008. Similarly, the
region’s economic growth figure of 2.6 percent for the year ended March was slightly faster than the 2.5 percent annual
average growth rate across the country in the same period.
While we are experiencing some slowing in economic growth, it would seem that the Canterbury region is in reasonably
good heart as, for the second year running, tonight’s awards have attracted a record number of entrants.
From emerging exporters through to more established global operators, they demonstrate the attitude and commitment to
creating high-value products and services that businesses need to embrace in order to successfully compete
internationally.
Agencies like New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the government’s national economic development agency, are there to help
you on the journey. It runs a number of business programmes and services that help businesses build up their capability
and take on the world.
The Enterprise Development Grant for Market Development has proved popular with businesses wanting to attend
international trade events or build up their in-market presence. Here in Canterbury about 130 companies have received
Market Development funding since the scheme began.
Beachheads and Better by Design programmes are extremely useful to businesses looking to gain access to international
networks or incorporate design principals into all facets of a business. Both these programmes have received an extra $8
million of funding for the next financial year.
Eight ambitious Christchurch companies from a range of sectors are already making the most of the Beachheads programme
to help them accelerate their growth in markets as diverse as the Middle East and India. Well-known local businesses
Jade Software and Bloomsberry are two Beachheads success stories. Most recently Brands International has been able to
take advantage of tailored advice and assistance from UK retail distribution expert Mark West to grow their global
business.
And of course, NZTE’s global network of highly skilled staff is there to help you find the people, knowledge and
opportunities that will help you become successful international operators - helping New Zealand become more
internationally competitive and raise our standards of living.
The exporters here tonight, and many others like them, make an immense contribution to New Zealand's economy. You are a
positive part of the economic transformation that New Zealand needs.
Tonight we celebrate export successes that have already occurred. But the challenges that the finalists and winners have
risen to are the challenge we need many more New Zealand businesses to take up to keep our country moving forward.
The efforts that you make and the inspiration you provide to others in the business community play an important part in
New Zealand's long term economic success. I thank you for the part you play and I congratulate tonight’s winners, who
fully deserve this public recognition.
ENDS