Fiji-NZ trade at $1.88billion

TWO way trade between Fiji and New Zealand is valued at around $NZ1.35billion ($F1.88b) and there is scope for more, said New Zealand Trade & Invest Trade Commissioner to the Pacific David Dewar.

“It’s relatively evenly matched. New Zealand probably has the much larger portion of the goods trade but when we talk about services trade, Fiji exports a lot to New Zealand. Tourism and travel services are the huge components of that,” Mr Dewar said in an interview with The Fiji Times.

Mr Dewar represented New Zealand Trade & Invest at yesterday’s launch of HOTEC Trade

Show 2024, an event organised by the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association that will showcase Fiji and the Pacific’s tourism industry offerings.

“We were privileged to be the gold sponsor of the HOTEC trade show in 2022. We had seven companies as part of that with a further couple of New Zealand companies that were there, not as part of our contingent, but it just shows you there’s real interest from New Zealand’s business sector in working with Fiji.

Mr Dewar said there are “huge opportunities” for New Zealand investors in Fiji.

“What we often see is New Zealand companies that would come over initially selling goods or selling services into the market and then seeing that there’s a real opportunity to invest through bricks and mortar, actually building a presence either in partnership with a local company or setting up shop themselves and becoming a local company themselves.”

New Zealand companies are investing in the food and beverage space, construction industry and “there are actually a number of New Zealand investors that actually own large hotel chains throughout Fiji and the New Zealand”, Mr Dewar said.

New Zealand is the second biggest source market of Fiji’s tourists after Australia.

In 2022, Fiji welcomed 152,863 from New Zealand who spent a total of $438million in the local economy during their stay here, according to Tourism Fiji’s latest International Visitor Survey data.