Exporters Urged To Stand Up And Be Counted

Successful exporters are being asked to stand proud and enter the country’s top export accolades, the Trade New Zealand Export Awards.

The awards showcase best practise and measure export success by the achievement of growth, strategies, innovation, and hard graft - no matter whether a company is big or small.

Last year’s supreme Exporter of the Year was steamed pudding exporter Old Fashioned Foods - which has since gone from strength to strength and attributes an 100% growth in domestic sales in part to winning the profile-raising award.

Trade New Zealand’s General Manager Marketing Rod MacKenzie says the longstanding awards are now easier than ever to enter and this year will follow a revised format. The change allows for the awards to be presented throughout the year at each winner’s premises, so the award can be presented and shared with staff and suppliers.

This recognises the part a company’s staff and suppliers play ‘behind the scenes’ in winning such an award and allows exporting success to be celebrated throughout the year.

The system will culminate in an awards dinner where a supreme award and sector-related category winners will be presented. The dinner will be held in May 2002 as part of Trade New Zealand’s first ever National Export Conference.

This year exporters can access details and entry forms at a brand new website, www.exportawards.co.nz. Entries for The Trade New Zealand Export Awards are now open and close September 21, 2001.

"New Zealand has a long history of recognising sports heroes but rarely celebrates business heroes and the export successes that form the backbone of our economy," says Trade New Zealand's General Manager Marketing, Rod MacKenzie.

"Many of our leading exporters go about their day-to-day business quietly and without notice, but achieve outstanding export success.

"These awards aim to recognise work that stands out from the crowd - and to foster an export culture in New Zealand by encouraging other companies to reach the same export successes,” Rod MacKenzie says.

A provisional profile of merchandise exporters for the year ended March 2001 shows there are over 9000 New Zealand businesses exporting - and most of these are small and medium sized businesses. Only 148 companies export more than $25 million annually and account for 62.7% of the country's total exports.

"It's vital for New Zealand's future that we grow the breadth and depth of New Zealand's exporting base and encourage more exporters to take the next step up," Rod MacKenzie says.

Trade New Zealand’s Export Awards are sponsored by DHL Worldwide Express.

For more information please contact:

Pamela Ford
Promotion Manager
Trade New Zealand
Ph (09) 302 5434
Email: Pamela.ford@tradenz.govt.nz

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