Stronger New Zealand - South Africa Trade Links Called For

International Trade Minister Lockwood Smith has today called for significantly enhanced trade and investment links between New Zealand and South Africa.

Dr Smith, leading the first New Zealand trade mission to South Africa since apartheid-related sanctions were lifted, told a civic reception in Johannesburg that the time had come to forge a far deeper trading relationship.

"Until now, the relationship between out two countries has largely been restricted to rugby and the struggle against apartheid. But the time has come for us to broaden that relationship, and to give it more substance, specifically in the area of trade," Dr Smith said.

Trade has already expanded significantly in recent years. In the year ending December 1990, New Zealand exported just under $16 million worth of goods and services to South Africa. For the year ending June 1997, that figure had increased to over $70 million. South Africa's exports to New Zealand went from $9.5 million to $64 million over a comparable period.

"Essentially, we are selling you dairy products, electrical and industrial machinery and some meat, and you are selling us paper products, plastics and industrial raw materials. But I think much more can and should be done," Dr Smith said.

New Zealand was attractive to South Africa because it has an efficient, open economy which was comparable in GDP terms to Chile, the Phillipines, Ireland and Egypt.

For South African investors, New Zealand was also a cost-effective base for exporting into the Australian market of 21 million people, and beyond that to the rapidly expanding economies of Asia.

"On the other side of the coin, we think that South Africa has the potential to become a much bigger market for us than it is. We'd like to see more meat and dairy products being exported to South Africa."

"But, at the moment, South African tariffs are a significant barrier to increased sales. If they were lowered, we would be in a position to help you meet what I understand is a growing consumer demand for low-cost, high-quality foodstuffs," Dr Smith said.

New Zealand also sees substantial export opportunities in products that demand innovation and applied technology, such as telecommunications products and agricultural technology.

"Another area where I believe we could do well is in supplying prefabricated, low-cost housing which could help transform the social landscape of South Africa," Dr Smith said.