Not only does New Zealand have an FTA with mainland China, it is also the only country with an FTA with Hong Kong and is working towards an agreement with Chinese Taipei (official speak for Taiwan), he says.
If New Zealand achieves this, it will be the only country to put the three dots together on that Chinese economic triangle.
So New Zealand is now in a “good space” in its trade relationship with Asia, Groser says, and he is surprised Australia has not been quicker off the mark in taking advantage of our joint FTA with South East Asia.
“We need to seize the moment,” Groser says. That is why he had been on four trade missions in the last few weeks he told Dairy News, at the opening of New Image Group’s $10 million factory in Auckland.
Groser says he is confident New Zealand will get an advantage from vertical integration strategies for products, but only when they make economic sense.
Companies such as New Image are developing high technology solutions for primary products, he says.
“This will hedge against commodity price and currency fluctuations.”
