Indian market offers massive opportunities for NZ businesses: Primary Industries Minister

The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz Highlighting the point that India is a priority country for his government, Nathan Guy, Primary Industries (Agriculture) Minister, New Zealand, said today that there is a great opportunity for businesses in New Zealand to tap the potential of the evolving Indian market.

Nathan Guy, Primary Industries Minister, New Zealand (Pic source - Govt. of New Zealand)

Guy said that half of the 1.2 billion population of India are under the age of 25 and includes a 300 million growing middle class. This could help boost bilateral trade with India, particularly in sectors such as food, ICT, tourism, manufacturing and services, and green technologies. “This is my first visit to India, and it is clear the opportunity and potential here is abundant,” Guy said after his meeting with various ministers and businessmen in India. Highlighting the similarities, Guy said that both the countries share a love for cricket (New Zealand will co-host the Cricket World Cup with Australia next year), a commonwealth heritage and have freshly elected governments that offer stability. However, Guy expressed disappointment that despite such linkages, India-New Zealand bilateral trade stands at just around $1 billion. He said, “India is our 18th largest trading partner – but we can and should be doing much better. We need to continue to push for progress on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between our countries, and also the Open Skies Agreement.” Guy hoped that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will help boost business collaboration between the two countries. New Zealand’s economy is heavily reliant on the external sector. While almost a quarter of its agricultural output is meant for exports, tourism supports a significant part of its employment. However, Guy says that New Zealand doesn’t want to compete with India but seeks a win-win situation for businesses in both sides.

India had a trade deficit of around $338 million in FY2013-14 (Source - Ministry of Commerce, India)

New Zealand has offered its expertise in agriculture, dairy and tourism to India. He also hinted that, encouraged by the Christchurch example, New Zealand may help India in building smart cities. He said, “It (rebuilding Christchurch after the massive earthquakes in 2010-12) has also been an opportunity for us to re-evaluate what the needs of a modern city are, and to design, almost from scratch, a smart, vibrant, sustainable city.” Radha Mohan Singh, India’s Agriculture Minister, said in a meeting with Nathan Guy yesterday that there is a potential for New Zealand to increase its imports of products such as garlic, grapes, wheat, groundnut, and sugar from India. India's Agriculture Minister also urged Guy to resolve phyto-sanitary issues and help Indian Immunological Limited (IIL), a veterinary biologicals government company in India, to begin operations in New Zealand.  

This article was published on November, 7, 2014.