Importing from India 101

His Excellency the High Commissioner of India to New Zealand, Admiral (Retd.) Sureesh Mehta, recently gave an interview to the Indian Weekender (great read) and we picked up on one very specific comment he made.

"We have been taking timber and wool from here, so that will continue. In fact we have a trade deficit at this point of about 60% in favour of New Zealand so we would definitely benefit by the FTA when more of our products come here."

Later on, speaking at the Wellington function to celebrate India's Republic Day (26th Jan), he again spoke passionately about using an economic platform as the basis to deepen the NZ-India relationship. And he stated that the FTA negotiations are just about to commence with an Indian team due to arrive in February - great stuff.

Notwithstanding the great debate about what we should import or not, the fact of the matter is that we do import lots of stuff - and export lots as well. Let's face it - the World is flat, and we need to get stuff from overseas so we can concentrate on making what we're good at.

Given that we do import, it is time for Kiwi businesses to look more closely at some sectors where India has become very sophisticated. Take electrical components for instance - we imported in excess of US$100 million of this stuff in 2008 and India is a world class source for such products.

There is a huge push for exports from India (delicious Indian mangoes would be GREAT but our sources tell us that we may have to wait till my teeth fall out!) and several export promotion agencies are very keen to help businesses in India export - particularly in line with India's recent "look east" stance of building trade with the rest of Asia.

It will pay for Kiwi businesses looking to source products and components from overseas to give India a look now, as there are good deals to be had. You will find that Indian exporters are typically more willing to work with smaller orders, unlike other Asian countries which have been traditional sources for New Zealand, and are patient in building their business.

At the least, globally minded Kiwi businesses can diversify their sources or indeed their global manufacturing footprint to reduce political and economic risks by having India as an option.

So give India a go next time you need to source a product from overseas, or when you're thinking about sourcing manufacturing capacity or wish to achieve that scale for that niche innovative Kiwi product - you may pick up a share of the huge Indian pie as well.

Oh, did we mention that they speak English and Shane Bond is a great conversation opener?

For a no-obligation discussion on how we can help locate reliable and competitive sources for world-class Indian products (except Tata Nano - sorry), contact us.