NZ keen on Phl products, services

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported yesterday that New Zealand is keen on investing in Philippine shipbuilding and outsourcing sectors.

“Philippine products and services complement the New Zealand market. We see opportunities worth exploring in export-driven investments such as ship-building and outsourcing services in New Zealand,” said Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo.

The Doing Business in Free Trade Areas (DBFTA) campaign in New Zealand resulted in business matching activities where key importers from New Zealand will be sourcing from the Philippines products such as fresh mangoes, mango puree, coco sugar, and coconut oil. New Zealand companies, on the other hand, are looking at exporting honey and ice cream to the country as well as expanding their production centers outside New Zealand.

Another New Zealand importer said they are looking for suppliers of artificial flowers, ceramics, and blow glass items from the Philippines.

Earlier, Domingo noted the positive utilization rate of Philippine exporters of the ASEAN Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement or AANZFTA.

The Philippines has trade agreements with the ASEAN, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and recently, India.

“These trade agreements also level the playing field within ASEAN. The costs of doing business are reduced over time and this could mean more interest for companies to look into areas they may have not considered before, like where to locate their business or where to expand,” said Paulo Garcia, director of the New Zealand Philippines Business Council.

Garcia also reported that New Zealand is also interested in the skilled workforce that the Philippines offers, specifically in the areas of backroom engineering design work, CAD, software development, nursing and healthcare. Large companies in New Zealand have been building yachts for markets such as the United States and Europe and will outsource their design service requirements.

There are some 40,000 overseas Filipinos in New Zealand that can serve as ready market for Philippine food products. Over the years, several business partnerships have proven promising between the Philippines and New Zealand on areas such as yacht and pleasure-craft manufacturing, paper, and electronics.