Another new export

Press, 21 December 1981, Page 18

Another new export

If New Zealand is to trade its way out its economic difficulties, it must be constantly placing more or new. products on new markets. The days are long gone when there was no., real need for export diversification and export promotion — because, from a few products sold in a few established markets, the country could earn enough to live on. One result of these new demands on the country’s producers, primary and secondary, has been the assumption .of wide* responsibilities 'for,j export promotion by various Government departments. Another has been the proliferation of export promotion councils and boards to the extent that everyone seems to be getting in on the act, possibly to the detriment of the most effective and cost-conscious promotion of New Zealand goods.

The department most concerned with export promotion is Trade and Industry. Its active export promotion division offers individual exporters a wide range of services, both within New Zealand and overseas. Other bodies, such as the ExportImport Corporation, also stand ready to help possible exporters identify and then break into new markets overseas: Finally, each major primary industry has its own board which is customarily active in promoting the export of the industry’s products. The Wool Board, Dairy Board, Meat Board arid Fishing Industry Board, are all active, identifying markets, developing products to suit the specific requirements of those markets, and then promoting the sales.

Recently, the cultured mussel industry has formed its own Mussel Promotion Council. The council’s aim is, initially, to persuade New Zealanders to eat more mussels but from the outset it intends to engage in market research and promotion beyond New Zealand’s shores. The formation of the council might seem unnecessary, when there are so many . Government bodies able to assist individual mussel farmers to export their product. Co-ordination among producers to promote exports has proved itself for many other products. Until, recent years, too, the fishing industry has been marked by a high degree of individualism in marketing. The progress made in boosting fisheries exports owes a considerable _ amount to the better co-ordination of marketing, especially under the aegis of the Fishing Industry Board.,

Sensibly, the new Mussel Promotion Council is to work in close liaison with the Fishing Industry Board. The general manager of the board is the new council’s first chairman. The council should not be encouraged to deal directly with the Government itself in seeking assistance in promoting exports. The Fishing Industry Board already provides the appropriate channel for such dealings. The board will ■not be likely to place any damper on the efforts of; mussel farmers to export their product, or tp allow their specialised interests and concerns to become submerged in those of more important sectors of the fishing industry. Cultured shellfish are unlikely ever to match other, fishery products as an export earner, even though there has been a considerable increase in the value of shellfish exports since the mid-19705. The Fishing Industry Board has played an active role in getting mussel farming into the sea and has said clearly that it believes that mussel farming has excellent potential as an export industry. It can be counted on to provide the new council with all the encouragement and assistance it may need. ‘

The most promising markets for shellfish exports have already been identified. The United States market is recognised as being capable of taking a valuable supply, but also as a market that needs well co-ordinated salesmanship if its diverse requirements are to be met. The initial hurdle has already been cleared with agreement over hygiene control, which will allow New Zealand shellfish to enter the United States market. Japan is also seen as a good prospective importer of shellfish. At present, the commerical cultivation of shellfish is limited to mussels and Pacific oysters. Scallops and paua may join them, particularly if the efforts to. sell mussels overseas are successful.

A-note of caution may be necessary. A recent report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries observed that the. first flush of enthusiasm for new horticultural crops is now tempered by a recognition that new industries cannot succeed unless markets are precisely identified and the products geared to genuine opportunities. It is a caution that the new Mussel. Promotion Council will have to bear in mind as it embarks on its promising, but not necessarily plain-sailing, course.