India & NZ to enter free trade talks
National Business Review | 23 February 2009
India & NZ to enter free trade talks
By Nevil Gibson
Trade Minister Tim Groser is issuing a wake-up call to New Zealand companies interested in deepening their trade with India.
Mr Groser and his Indian counterpart Kamal Nath announced on Saturday that our respective governments are to negotiate a free trade agreement, with negotiations due to begin later this year.
The announcement follows the release last week of research which concluded this country’s businesspeople are not paying enough attention to the bilateral economic and trade relationship.
The research was commissioned by the government’s economic development agency, NZTE, and carried out by independent agency Nielsen.
Mr Groser and Mr Nath’s bilateral discussions in New Delhi at the weekend centred on a joint study officials concluded recently into whether the two countries should negotiate an FTA.
While the study confirms there is “considerable potential” for developing the bilateral trade and economic relationship, NZ is not paying as much attention to India as it should, says Mr Groser.
New Zealand exports coal, timber, wool, hides and skins to India. However, relatively few of New Zealand’s traditional food exporters are able to access the market.
“As well as working to improve the terms of access for our traditional agricultural sector, it is critical that we focus on emerging niche sectors in which New Zealand and Indian companies can collaborate,” Mr Groser says.
The Nielsen research highlights low Indian awareness of New Zeaand as a business partner, coupled with a perception that New Zealanders do not have an appetite for business.
It suggests Indian businesses perceive New Zealanders as having the necessary ability to do business, but not the interest.
NZ companies also do not promote themselves in India — either virtually or face-to-face, it says.
NZTE’s regional director for South and Southeast Asia, Alan Koziarski, says learning more about the cultural and market requirements in India — as well as adapting to often complex Indian business regulations — is essential if NZ companies are to succeed there.
