Welcome to 2017 and an exciting year ahead.

Exporters are hugely grateful to John Key for the hard work he has done on their behalf all over the world. We move forward with a new Prime Minister into interesting times indeed - as outlined in my Trade Update below.

Our relationship with Europe is now more complex due to Brexit, and the USA has formally withdrawn from the TPP. There are now several options available for New Zealand.

We will continue to keep you informed of developments and what they mean for you as Kiwi exporters.

Wishing you every success in this New Year ahead.

Catherine Beard

027 463 3212 or cbeard@exportnz.org.nz

In this month's Trade Update, I examine all the implcations of Brexit  and how it has complicated the New Zealand EU and New Zealand UK FTA negotiations. There is good news but also a problem to address.

The Government has done very well to keep the EU committed to a FTA with New Zealand, and to have New Zealand close to the front of the queue for a FTA with the UK. But don't expect rapid progress in either negotiation.

I also update you on the GCC, Sri Lanka, and the USA - what are our options now that the USA has formally withdrawn from TPP? More...

Here's a useful piece from Hon Todd McClay on how you can make the most of New Zealand's free trade agreements (FTAs) and draw on government support to help you access and grow in global markets.

As a small and distant country with a population of just 4.7 million, we will not become more prosperous by selling to ourselves. We have to earn it. That is why trade is so important to us and why the Government is currently working on an update to its 20-year-old Trade Policy Strategy. More...

Belarus has introduced a five-day visa-free regime for citizens of 80 states: 39 countries of Europe (including all EU members), Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and other countries.

To benefit from visa-free regime travelers should enter and leave the country through Minsk National Airport only.

The visa-free stay is granted irrespective of the purpose of the visit. There are no limits on visa-free trips frequency, the total stay must not exceed 90 days per year.

The visa-free regime enters into force on 12 February 2017. More...

The Serious Fraud Office is hosting the Fraud and Corruption Conference 2017 ‘Bringing together the old and new’ at Sky City Conference Centre in Auckland on Thursday 23 February 2017.

A high calibre of international speakers will share their experiences and develop the conversation of how we tackle these crimes with new methods of investigation, intelligence and innovation, and how fraud and corruption affects all of us.

Speakers include:

• Alexandra Wrage, Canada, President and founder of TRACE. David Green CB QC, Director of the UK Serious Fraud Office
• James Barnacle, USA, Chief of the Money Laundering Unit in the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigation Division, FBI   
• Kera Langlois, Singapore, Special Agent with the United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) based in Singapore
• Steve van Aperen, Australia, an expert on human behaviour, Steve shows companies and government departments how to read and interpret micro expressions, distress signals and facial expressions. 
• Nick McKenzie, Australia, a leading Australian investigative newspaper and broadcast journalist.

PRICE: Government employees $450 plus GST, corporate rate $500 plus GST. 

Click here to register  – Numbers are limited!

For queries please contact: conference@sfo.govt.nz

This is a great Kiwi innovation story about a new product with massive export legs.

New Zealand Innovation Awards Innovation Excellence in Research has been won by Sunfed Meats - a company only set up in January 2015 by husband and wife team Shama and Hayden Lee to manufacture an all-natural "meat" made from plants.

Shama says her company is unlike anything else in Aotearoa, with only a few companies overseas doing something even remotely similar to Sunfed.

Judges at the Innovation Awards said "This will enable a massive advancement in food technology. New Zealand is primed to be a leader in this industry due to its globally respected agricultural industry."

The company claims "This is how New Zealand will double agricultural production by 2025. We can create the same proteins whilst consuming 5 times less land and water." More...

The rest of the world has started to discover a taste for the fruit that Kiwis have known for generations - the Feijoa - and opportunities are developing for orchards of scale to meet that demand.

New markets for the fruit are opening up and last year's exports were the highest ever reported, with a 15 per cent increase to $500,000 to May 2016.

Feijoa brand Zeijoa managing director Todd Abrahams said the company was in its fourth year exporting under its premium brand, and now operated under a shared grower ownership.

He said the domestic market was relatively saturated with fruit, and exporting was likely to succeed more if growers co-operated under a brand or group, as his had done.

But he cautioned investors or landowners considering feijoas and expecting an easy and fast return.

"You have to be prepared to be in there for the long haul, and expect it may take up to 10 years to be really established. This is a relatively new export, and the days of being a cottage industry are gone, you need scale. Compared to avocados where you can start making money as soon as you buy a block, feijoas will require more effort." More...

Photo credit WARWICK SMITH/FAIRFAX NZ

Its lead may have narrowed over the past year, but South Korea still reigns supreme on Bloomberg’s Innovation Index, which ranks world economies using metrics such as R&D spending and the concentration of high-tech companies.

South Korea, home to Samsung and Hyundai notched high scores in patent activity, higher education, value-added manufacturing along with several other categories to maintain its position.

The Nordic countries, however, managed to gain ground, with Sweden rising to the No. 2 spot and Finland riding a spike in high-tech firms into the top five. More...

Fonterra is out to be the big cheese in Korea, following the opening up of the economy through the signing of the free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand in December 2015.

Exports of all Kiwi products have grown by 16 per cent since the signing, but for Fonterra cheese in particular shows the greatest promise.

Already Korea is New Zealand's fifth largest cheese market, worth $70 million a year and comparable to returns from the United States. More...

There are some great opportunities for improving your business through learnings at seminars, workshops and events. To see what's coming up, go to the ExportNZ home page and scroll down to see what's happening around the country.

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