N.Z. ‘trying to plug in’ to South Korean growth

Press, 24 January 1985, Page 18

N.Z. ‘trying to plug in’ to South Korean growth

NZPA staff correspondent, David Porter, in Seoul New Zealand and Korean officials would like. South Korea to send its first full trade mission to New Zealand this year as part of efforts to expand a trade which is substantially in New Zealand’s favour, but vulnerable to commodity shifts. “We’re looking at where we can plug into South Korea’s economic development,” New Zealand’s new trade commissioner to Seoul, Mr Phil Harland, said. There were other sources to the traditional commodities which made up the bulk of exports which jumped to SNZI9OM last year, making it New Zealand’s second biggest market in Asia after Japan, he said. The Meat Board’s representative in Tokyo, Mr Graeme Harrison, said that he was worried by a recent South Korean decision to include some European countries on the approved list for the bone-less beef tenders in which New Zealand gained a significant share last year.

Mr Harland said he be-

lieved a trade mission would enable both exporters and importers from South Korea to see new opportunities, especially given New Zealand’s import liberalisation moves. A senior Korean trade development official, Mr Park Un-Suh, said he was aware of New Zealand’s market-opening moves and felt a trade mission would be desirable. But he said South Korea would welcome Wellington’s support in mounting such a mission. Australia had sponsored a mission in 1984 and was likely to again this year, Mr Park said. Government officials were making efforts to meet New Zealand’s request at last September’s official trade talks for this year’s round in Wellington to be held in August and coinciding with the annual meeting of the Korea-New Zealand Business Council. New Zealand officials and businessmen believe running the two together would raise the level of the South Korean presence at the business talks, which were held in Seoul in November last year with a disappoint-

ing local attendance.

A source in Seoul said that South Korea was due to take part in 43 rounds of bilateral trades talks this year.

Mr Park said South Korea was concerned about increasing protectionism in its major market — the United States — and other countries for its steel, electronics, and textile exports.

More than two-thirds of New Zealand’s commodity exports to South Korea were re-exported to third countries, and any decline in Korea’s export performance would be likely to affect New Zealand’s own exports, trade officials said. South Korea’s growth rate had fallen from about 30 per cent in the 1970 s to 12 per cent in 1983, 20 per cent in 1984, to this year’s projection of 7.5 per cent. Economic analysts have said South Korea’s foreign debt of about SUS 42 billion — the fourth highest in the world — could create problems if Korea experienced major export set-backs.

Mr Park said the debt was a matter of concern but South Korea’s current debtservice ratio (measuring

payments of foreign debt as a proportion of export revenue) of about 15 per cent was manageable, and better than in the early 19705.

New Zealand’s exports to South Korea so far this year looked like continuing last year’s growth, said officials. Mr Harland said the August-October 1984 quarterly export figure of ?NZ44.5M was up 17.1 per cent on the comparable period in 1983 (SNZ3BM).

The hotel food trade in particular would be pushed this year, with efforts made to gain access for kiwifruit and venison to South Korea and a bigger participation by New Zealand in KorFood, the major food trade fair, he said. But on access issues, Tokyo sources said they believed no real progress had been made on long-standing negotiations by the Dairy Board to set up a cheeseprocessing joint venture in South Korea as an initial step for dairy products access.

“We’ve got to shift some trade interests into new areas,” said Mr Harland. “But it’s a slow process.”