Ata mārie koutou,

In this months newsletter, it is your last opportunity to register for the ExportNZ All of Government Roadshow. This free series of events kicked off this week and has had great feedback so far, is designed to give exporters and businesses the opportunity to hear from our partners about how they are supporting exporters. You will have the space to engage, provide feedback, and ask questions.

We also have information on how you can participate in the Government procurement CoLabs, and proposals by the Australian Industry Group on strengthening a single trans-Tasman market. 

Ngā mihi
Josh Tan
Executive Director

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector showed further contraction in June, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).

The seasonally adjusted PMI for June was 47.5 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was the lowest level of activity since November 2022, and well below the long-term average activity rate of 53.0.

BusinessNZ’s Director, Advocacy Catherine Beard said that the sector remains entrenched in contraction, with eight of the last ten months showing overall activity below the 50.0 point mark.

“The key sub-index values of Production (47.5) and New Orders (43.8) dragged the June result further into contraction, while Employment (47.0) also shifted down a gear. Any return to long run activity levels needs these sub-index values returning to positive territory.

Read more ->>

Want to hear from our key government partners in the export sector?

ExportNZ is delighted to bring together representatives from government agencies and government-funded programmes for a roadshow around Aotearoa New Zealand to talk about everything and anything export!

There will also be the opportunity to network and catch up with other businesses and exporters in the room before and after the event over a bite and a drink!

Running between the 25th July and the 4th August, we will be in Dunedin, Cromwell, Christchurch, Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, Tauranga, Hamilton, and Auckland. We will also be live-streaming our session on Tuesday, 1st August for those that cannot attend any of the in-person events.

More information here ->>

We’re bringing next generation collaborative contracting (NGCC), Document Builder and sector leadership to our August CoLabs. We’d love for you to get involved. The CoLabs continue to be a great way to work with the system on refining the projects from our Procurement for the Future programme.

Procurement for the Future is our strategic change programme. It looks at how we can adapt and transform the government procurement system.

These workshops bring suppliers and government agencies together to co-design what ‘better’ looks like to support the programme.

The August CoLabs are on 15, 21 and 22 August.

Learn more ->>

New Zealand’s only national fabricator calls on industry to follow suit

New Zealand’s largest and only national stone benchtop fabricator announces today that it is banning engineered stone that contains more than 40 percent silica – part of its ongoing efforts in the fight against silicosis.

AGB Stone, which has six factories across the country and employs more than 130 people, will phase out high-silica slabs and cease working with suppliers who cannot meet the company’s standards.

Long-time advocates for safe work practices, AGB owners Cam and Christine Paranthoiene have for many years led the way stone fabricators should operate – including creating proprietary processes, investing millions of dollars in state-of-the-art machinery and being early adopters of wet-cutting and air monitoring as a safeguard against the potentially-fatal lung disease silicosis.

Read more ->>

The Australian Industry Group has today put forward a set of proposals to reinvigorate the Australian New Zealand Free Trade agreement (CER) and end the gradual fragmentation of this important market.

"While political will remains strong for a close economic relationship between Australia and New Zealand, numerous decisions by regulators are undermining the effectiveness of the CER," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group said today.

"The decisions are often small but put together the result has been the creation of divergent regulatory schemes fuelled by disjointed standards. This is negatively impacting businesses and consumers, resulting in higher prices and/or reduced product options.

Read more ->>

Swire Projects, the projects and heavy lift shipping services division of Swire Shipping, has successfully delivered a complete set of wind turbines from China to Bluff, New Zealand, for one of the world’s leading wind energy companies, Vestas.

The wind energy cargo is intended for the Kaiwera Downs Wind Farm (Stage 1), which is being completed near the town of Gore in the South Island of New Zealand. It consists of a total of 10 V136 Vestas wind turbines.

Swire Projects has established itself as a reliable and experienced carrier of renewable energy cargo, and it has put together a world class transport engineering team who have the expertise to be able to identify innovative solutions for clients. In deploying its newly chartered vessel, Pacific Humility, for the transportation of this project shipment, Swire Projects was able to provide an efficient solution and ensured that all 10 wind turbines were loaded on one vessel in a single shipment.

Read more ->>

This tariff finder is designed to help goods exporters and importers maximise benefits from New Zealand's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and compare tariffs in more than 140 other international markets. Goods exporters and importers can use it to check the tariff rate for over 164 World Trade Organization (WTO) members and observers.

Learn more ->>

For updates on BusinessNZ advocacy and for the latest Advocacy Update, BusinessNZ's advocacy newsletter, have a look at the new advocacy the website here.

Don’t forget to check out our contract manufacturers directory if you are looking for contract manufacturing support or you are wanting to advertise your services.

More ->>