Venkat Raman
Auckland, March 19, 2019
Fiji is keen to promote its products and services to New Zealand and a number of incentives are in place, the country’s Trade, Tourism, Industry, Local Government and Community Development Minister has said.
“New Zealand is among the top ten export destinations for Fiji over the past five years, Ms Kumar said that the two-way trade stood at F$ 992.2 million as at the end of 2017, with annual average exports at F$110 million. New Zealand has also been one of Fiji’s top five import markets. In 2017, the highest number of imports were from New Zealand, valued at F$858.1 million,” she said.
Ms Kumar was speaking at a Reception organised in her honour by the Sydney based Consul General and Trade Commissioner (Australia and New Zealand) Zarak Khan, at the Office of the New Zealand Trade & Enterprise on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
“Fiji is the hub of the Pacific, the hub of communications, trade, investment, tourism and innovation. We established our Trade Commission in Auckland about a year ago in Auckland’s Central Business District, alongside major financial institutions, corporations and equally important, many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” she said.
Describing SMEs as the backbone of the New Zealand economy, Ms Kumar said that they are a driving force behind the strong New Zealand-Fiji trade, investment and economic relationship.
“We are neighbours with businesses and investment partners who are strategically positioned to engage with each other for the benefit of both economies,” she said.
Earlier, Fiji Trade Commission New Zealand Manager Peter James Rudd introduced the Minister and spoke about the objectives of his Office in Auckland and New Zealand-Fiji Business Council President Chandra Sen spoke the efforts of his Council to boost trade between the two countries.
