Canterbury exporters encouraged to expand

Press, 24 March 1988, Page 33

Canterbury exporters encouraged to expand

By MARK REYNOLDS! Canterbury' .exporters ha’J'e taken full advantage of thej.New Zealand Market! Development Board's individual exporter programme in its first year of operation, sfdd a spokesman for thei board, Mr Tony Rush, yesterday. Mr Rush, who is direcr tor of jthe board's: export awareness campaign, said that Canterbury exporters were second behind Auckland in terms of the aid they received from the programme. i ’ ’’• 1 "jin this region, 1080 applications for assistance were* approved out of a total. of 3000 applications, nationwide," - Mr Rush said. 'jin dollar terms. Canterbury received 5i.378.200 in assistance out! °f a total funds pool of 88,516,000. "That is more than double the! value that VV'eillingtoh exporters were given." • I Mr Rush said that! the funds employed have seen 10 export managers] appointed in local firms'and two local companies have been able to set up overseas marketing offices;. because of the grants."' The programme is one

facet -ofl.ia major export: awjareness- programme which the. board has planned Ifor the next three years. ; • ■j'The campaign, will not be a- one off-high profile advertising hype type- of campaign. Rather, it- is an. intense. ]. activities-based. anti sustained campaign culminating in the year 1990," Mr Rush said. Further details will be. released: shortly, bin thei key: to the success of the; campaign will be the ef-i fonts :to involve union! leaders 'and management in specific foreign ex-: change earning industries. . in an effort to maximise the. potential. for foreign exchange earnings ■ in thqse industries, he said. . Mr .Rush- said New Zealanders need to be made' miore aware of the cdiishtry’s need for foreign exchange earnings. New Zealanders in all I walks of life need to change their attitude and. ibehavioUr towards! I overseas] earnings, if the. icodhtry lis to achieve'an ’increased standard of liviing.: he said. : '.’Hopefully it (the cam|paigri)- will lead to people i haying a greater understanding! of the part they ipldy in. jhe export Indus'-

i! ! H 1 } I ’ ’ , ! • ■ I try.'l Mr Rush said?' | "Thijs;; (will hope'fully I-lead: to. factory workers] I I taking] (greater care in; .: producing quality products. j right through to people' ] on the streets being ifriendl er to tourists.'' I | T ■ : |: ;|; Mr (Rush said that a programme. began;! in Christchurch his week to market ’New Zealand not merely'as a tourist! I des- . tinafion. but as a place for tourists to shop. ’ j ]] |- "Tourists seem to think that they go yo Singapore to shop, and New Zealand to tout!. | i i ' -’ | ' "What we are doing is handinjg out I leaflets totourists as they 'enter the country at p’hristchjurch airport. We are trying to market the city as a l destination for shoppers.’" I; The leaflet. "Your. Passport to | New; Zea v land," is a catalogue of products "unilque to ;New Zealand." . ; '' : I Mr ißush said aril important feature i in this programme was that the leaflets | were ; . being ■handed out personally, as tourists Swere ’greeted] into the' country. i ' : : I On a larger scale. 1 the board is establishing a programme I in I Dallas. Texas, to ma]ke the Icon-

sumer market there more aware [oft New Zealand products] I. 11 "We have come up with a progranime to make the public there' more aware of the- ’quality of New. Zealand (products. “We will be embarking on a sustained marketing campaign]; in]-the area, which hopefully New Zealand exporters will take advantage: of." Mr Rush said that the principal products that New Zealand will be advertising are food, beverages, and 'tourism. , He said, that a seminar for "second] tier exporters" will tie held in] Christchurch in! April, so that they can ' take advantage of the enormous exposure New Zealand will have in Dallas, j’. He said that city was chosen because research indicated j the consumers there were "affluent and upwardly I mobile." : "Dallas’has the seventh largest: market in North America and' has the third largest number of households with incomes over 545.000." Mr Rush said. Dallas will be the . first in a series of cities] targeted' by the marketing development board.! he said.