It’s been a busy month for kiwi exporters with border re-openings being brought forward. I know our exporters are itching to get overseas and will finally be able to do so without having to isolate once they return - to all those going offshore, I wish you safe travels!

Last night we celebrated some of our best and brightest exporters at the New Zealand International Business Awards. While we couldn't do this in person, it was great to acknowledge the success they've all had. Well done to all those nominated, and a special congratulations to all of the winners on the night. A special thanks also goes to New Zealand Trade and Entreprise for putting on a great show, we're delighted to be a supporting partner of the NZIBAs.

The BusinessNZ Network are closely monitoring the situation and response to the threat of the Omicron variant and community transmission. Border restrictions and MIQ space is still front of mind for ExportNZ, especially as these protocols remain in place for the foreseeable future.

According to Stats from the MFAT reports below, in April exports to all countries were down 2.6 percent to $5.3 billion. Dairy and meat exports were up 25.8 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, while seafood and forestry exports fell 30.9 percent and 68.7 percent respectively. We are hearing good reports of optimism and resilience from our regional offices as to how their exporter members are feeling, with lots of agility and innovative thinking going on. Stay positive, the NZ economy needs you to do well like never before!

It has been my privilege to meet with you, hear your stories, and represent you to Government and in the media for the last 11 years. I have enjoyed it immensely and could not have worked on behalf of a more worthy business community. What you do is difficult, challenging, fun (hopefully), and you have to be the best of the best to compete with much bigger companies out there on the world stage.

We hope exporters are coping with the level 4 lockdown. We know it is frustrating for those that are not deemed essential businesses and we know you don’t want to let your international clients down. We continue to talk to the Government on your behalf and you can see some of the public commentary below.

Hopefully more of our manufacturing exporters are back up and running in level 3 in Auckland and we progress as a nation back to level 1 as soon as possible. The other issue weighing heavily on exporters and business travellers is the inability to get back into the country because of MIQ constraints. Please see below where we are asking for feedback to the Government on this problem via a formal submission process.

According to Stats from the MFAT reports below, in April exports to all countries were down 2.6 percent to $5.3 billion. Dairy and meat exports were up 25.8 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, while seafood and forestry exports fell 30.9 percent and 68.7 percent respectively. We are hearing good reports of optimism and resilience from our regional offices as to how their exporter members are feeling, with lots of agility and innovative thinking going on. Stay positive, the NZ economy needs you to do well like never before!

We hope exporters are coping with the level 4 lockdown. We know it is frustrating for those that are not deemed essential businesses and we know you don’t want to let your international clients down. We continue to talk to the Government on your behalf and you can see some of the public commentary below.

According to Stats from the MFAT reports below, in April exports to all countries were down 2.6 percent to $5.3 billion. Dairy and meat exports were up 25.8 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, while seafood and forestry exports fell 30.9 percent and 68.7 percent respectively. We are hearing good reports of optimism and resilience from our regional offices as to how their exporter members are feeling, with lots of agility and innovative thinking going on. Stay positive, the NZ economy needs you to do well like never before!

I do hope all our exporter readers are faring better now that we are out of such a restricted trading environment. Food and beverage exporters have done better since they were able to trade through that time as “essential services”, but it has definitely been very tough for our non-food manufacturers.

According to Stats from the MFAT reports below, in April exports to all countries were down 2.6 percent to $5.3 billion. Dairy and meat exports were up 25.8 percent and 0.8 percent respectively, while seafood and forestry exports fell 30.9 percent and 68.7 percent respectively. We are hearing good reports of optimism and resilience from our regional offices as to how their exporter members are feeling, with lots of agility and innovative thinking going on. Stay positive, the NZ economy needs you to do well like never before!

BusinessNZ has been working with our network partners at EMA and the Manufacturers Network to provide some guidance for safe work practices at alert level 3. We know these have been trying times and we are sure you are all keen to get back to work. Stay safe, and we hope this next phase wont last for too long before we can go to the next level of economic activity.

Greetings - in this edition, we have some information on what level 3 could look like, and highlight some considerations that businesses should take to ensure they are able to operate safely. We have also included some guidance from the Meat Industry Association around the guidelines they have created to ensure a safe working enviroment.