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The Muster- Eric Roy: Confidence in Kiwi Trade · The Muster on Hokonui

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Eric Roy joins us once again.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: This afternoon, although in a bit more of an exotic
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: location than down here in the Deep South. He's over
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: in China. Eric, good afternoon, or in your case, good morning.
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: Hello. Yeah, we're in China. in southern China at a
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: place called Ji Yang. And Big Day today is opening
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: a pavilion for New Zealand associated with the Chaoshan Group,
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: which is developing business links between, well, Chinese and New Zealand.
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: And it's not only just Chinese. The Chaoshan Group is
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: established in a number of countries, but its centre is
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: here in Zhejiang in China.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Describe the Chinese economy for us in a nutshell, knowing
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: that it's an absolute behemoth.
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: Well, it's simply huge. It would be wrong to say
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: it doesn't have issues. For example, one of the things
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: that I've been alerted to is that they've created quite
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: a business building dormitory cities. And they've got whole rafts
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: of people, millions of people and companies involved in construction.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: And they're now, I'm told, building more of these high-rise
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: dormitory rental properties than what they've got people to fill them.
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: And they can't sort of stop doing it because it's
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: going to create an opportunity. Oh, well, what are these
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: people going to do? So they've sort of got the
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: tiger by the tail. But look, here's my kind of
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: take on what's actually happening. If you look at New Zealand,
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: its trading internationally is only a bit over 200 years old.
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: And for the first 100 years, we did exceptionally well
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: being linked to Britain and Europe. After the First and
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: Second World Wars, we benefited from associations with the USA.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: If you look now and say, where's the compass pointing?
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: It's going to Asia and growing middle classes in China
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: and India and millions and millions of people wanting the
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: products that New Zealand produces. And that's why I'm kind
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: of involved. And there's no doubt that This is a
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: bit personal. People look at me and say, how are
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: you so big? What have you been eating? Can we
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: get some of this stuff? You know, there's just a
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: desire to have good quality food. And so I'm the
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: perfect example to be wandering around saying, eat New Zealand.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: As far as the prosperity of the state of where
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: you're based, what would you say?
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: Oh, look, it goes from really quite poor people to
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: people that are exceptionally wealthy. Like getting out of the
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: car park, I was jammed between a Maserati and a
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: Ferrari in the hotel car park yesterday. So to see
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: the sort of money that is about, you know, you've
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: just got to say that Tommy and here are exceptionally wealthy.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: And there's millions and millions of them. And as I said,
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: they want to deal with New Zealand. So the other
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: interesting thing, though, when I just talk about the Chao
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: Shan group. So in the diaspora of people that left
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: China in the 1800s, and some came to New Zealand
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: as gold miners, and some went to Singapore and America
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: and the Caribbean and Australia, some of them did quite well.
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: And then they formed this association when... China opened up
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: in the mid-70s and said, hang on, China's now lost
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: a lot of momentum. We've got the ability, we've got
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: the money, we've got the know-how, we can go back
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: in there. So that's where the Chaoshan Group came from.
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: And there's probably 20,000 people with connections into Canton and
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: Auckland alone. This is New Zealand's opportunity as part of
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: a big international group. So there's a pavilion being opened
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: And New Zealand has the second away from that pavilion
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: where we'll have a presence of Chinese New Zealand people saying,
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: this is what we offer. So there's quite a formidable
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: range of people. Canada's there, America's there, Australia's there, Germany's there.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: And we're all part of it, but we're right in
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: the inner sanctum of that. So it's about China looking
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: and saying, internationally, we need to do better. And if
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: we're not there, then we're missing out. Simple as that.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: So the likes of Australia, for example, they'll be there
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: as well, I suppose, given the economic benefits?
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: They are, but they're not as close to the main
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: pavilion as we are.
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: Why are you so close to the main pavilion then?
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Is that just luck of the draw?
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: No, we've got some very impressive New Zealand Cantonese people
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: in the Chaoshan movement. One of them has been the
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: president of the organization internationally, and he looks after our interests,
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: and he's the guy that I support. It's all about
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: connectivity and knowing the right people. That's how international detente
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: and just... development all works. You've just got to work
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: away at this stuff. It's a bit like aerial top dressing.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: You fly around putting on the super and you kind
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: of hope it works. Spring comes and away it goes.
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: That's how it works.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: That's one of the great comparisons of China I've had
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: with top dressing, Eric. But as far as selling our
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: story with China, what do we need to do better
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: or differently?
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: Well, it's about forming those associations and just saying to people,
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: This is where we're at now. One of the big
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: growth things that's really helping New Zealand is tourism from
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: China into New Zealand. I think they're about third or
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: fourth now as a visiting nation. And when they're here,
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: we need to give them the very best experiences they
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: can get. And that all helps as well. And the
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: work that's been done with free trade agreements and Things
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: like I'm doing today, having a presence where trade is
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: being talked and business is going on, all of that
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: just forms, there's no one sectional thing. We just have
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: to be aware of all opportunities and have people standing
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: there doing their promotion or answering the questions or just
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: being available. That's how it works.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: What about New Zealand wool? What opportunities do you see?
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: Well, It hasn't come up on this occasion, and I'm
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: just sort of answering questions, so I haven't run into
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: anybody that's had that question. But interestingly, you say that
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: the last time I was in India, a man said,
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: what have I got to do to buy the whole
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: New Zealand wool clip? So there is an interest in
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: doing wool stuff, and that's starting to come again, which
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: we've seen in the resultant auction price and that we're
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: getting paid for raw wool in New Zealand. So I
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: think that will develop again, but it's not an area
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: I've been embraced into.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Is it fair to say that we're underselling ourselves, Ian,
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: based on what you're seeing as a trading nation, Eric?
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: Oh, no, I think we're doing well, and I think...
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: The fact that we were off the blocks early with
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: a free trade agreement into China and again into India,
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: I think we're doing our bit. But I think we
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: are now, but there are times when we have not
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: performed as well or as enthusiastically as we should have done.
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: But I think the message is pretty clear right now.
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: This is where we need to be. The other thing
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: I'd say about developing markets into Asia is, If we
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: become dependent on one particular country and then they start
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: doing some things that are a bit against our trade
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: or they don't like us or whatever, our strength is
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: not in being able to knock them around verbally because
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: we're small and we're little, but we're saying, OK, we've
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: got other places we can send this product. We've got
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: other people that want this. So that's where we're going
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: to trade. And that's really our only option. When the
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: chips are down and we get loaded up with tariffs
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: or something that we find unacceptable, it's to say, well,
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: we do have other markets.
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: When do you think we can start seeing the benefits
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: from likes of what you're at at the moment, Eric?
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: What's the timeframe?
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: Oh, well, we're seeing them now and we're seeing them
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: in prices for protein all around the world right now. So,
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: you know, as I say, it's a bit like erosion
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: or aerial top dressing. You stop doing it, you stop
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: your aerial top dressing, in the first year you don't
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: really notice too much happening. But after five years, you've
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: got a disaster. So it's something we just need to
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: keep plugging away at.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Just finally, Eric, all the other countries are there trying
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: to put their name in the pot as well. Without
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: sounding patronising, does New Zealand have a good name amongst
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: these other countries too? Do they realise New Zealand's serious competition?
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: Well, I have not come across any negative impressions about
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: New Zealand and people even acknowledging the turnaround in the
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: All Blacks and a few other things that are happening.
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: So we do have an international profile that is above
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: our stations. We're, you know, I think we're about something
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: like 115th population-wise in the world. That's our size. But
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: we're 53rd in international trade. So we do punch above
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: our weight, and that is acknowledged. We're not a superpower,
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: but we're a super product. place, and that's the way
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: in which I think we need to look at ourselves.
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Eric, thanks for your time and getting up early, considering
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: what it is bricky time over there as such. All
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: the best over there too. Sounds interesting. We'll catch up
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: again to get a bit of a follow-up.
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: That'll be good. We'll look forward to that. Thanks a lot, Andy.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Eric Roy, getting up early to join us all the
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: way from China this morning. Positive things happening for New
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: Zealand trade. So, yeah, that's the kind of stuff we'd
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: like to hear. You're listening to The Master up next.
• 10:32
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