After more than a decade New Zealand and India have started free trade talks. They stalled 10 years ago. The first round of negotiations start in April this year.
It would be a major win for New Zealand having a free trade agreement with India because the latter is known to be a highly protectionist country. With the world in turmoil over America’s sweeping tariffs a free-trade agreement with India would be timely.
New Zealand already has a strong relationship with India, certainly dating back to the 1980s when Sir Edmund Hillary was High Commissioner to India, Nepal and Bangladesh (1985-1989). On the sports front too, New Zealand has close ties with India especially with cricket, with both sides frequently playing one another.
India is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies. By 2030 it is likely to be the world’s largest economy, surpassing the US, according to the website of New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade. (MFAT).
India and New Zealand are working to deepen ties across all pillars of the relationship, including political, defence and security, sporting, environmental, and people-to-people connections.
New Zealand’s proximity to India also helps to solidify the relationship. The number of Indians – or at least those claiming Indian descent – living in New Zealand are 292,092. This constitutes 5.5 percent of NZ’s total population of 5.23 million. This compares with India’s estimated 1.47 billion population, or nearly 18 percent of the world’s total. (China is now second among the world’s populous nations with 1.4 billion people).
New Zealand is also targeting the tourism and travel market between India and New Zealand. The number of tourists from India to NZ is about 80,000, 23 percent up on 2019. This number is expected to increase.
Despite sweeping US tariffs that have just come into force, this goal will mean that New Zealand wants to double its exports to India over the next 10 years.
As it stands, New Zealand exports a variety of goods to India, including wool, iron and steel, aluminium, fruits and nuts, and wood pulp, with two-way trade totalling NZD3.14 billion annually to December 2024.
New Zealand currently exports NZD718 million worth of goods to India, according to MFAT. The most significant of New Zealand’s current exports to India are forestry and agricultural products, including wool, logs, and apples.
The breakdown is like this:
- Forestry ($126m – logs: $71m)
- Iron and steel ($99m)
- Horticulture ($89m – apples & kiwifruit: $84m)
- Wool ($77m)
- Aluminium ($61m)
- Dairy ($57m)
Overall, India is New Zealand’s 19th-largest export market, accounting for 1 percent of all exports. New Zealand provides just 0.1 percent of India’s import market and is ranked 75th on the list of the South Asian nation’s trade partners.
Key goods imports from India include:
- Electrical and mechanical machinery and equipment ($174m)
- Textiles and apparel ($147m)
- Pharmaceuticals ($131m)
- Precious stones and metals ($60m)
- Vehicles ($62m)
- Paper products ($44m)
What does closer relations with India mean for Scriptus Publications and its online Business English course? (www.learnbusiness English,net). It means there is even more reason for Indians to choose a partner from New Zealand.
Moreover, the Learn Business English online course by Scriptus Publications has had strong relations with India for the past year. It has traction already. Not only does it have a presence there with 300 Indian students coming on board as I write this, there is also an Indian person in New Zealand on our team who can help you.
Learning Business English can be your passport to success.
(www.learnbusinessenglish.net)
