Exporting to New Zealand

There are a number of sectors that could potentially offer some opportunities to Northern Ireland companies. Opportunities exist across a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure, technology, agri-technology and e-commerce.

New Zealand's small open market also makes it a sound choice for Northern Ireland SME companies new to exporting.

There are opportunities for UK companies across a broad range of industries.

Infrastructure

New Zealand is investing heavily to update and create new critical infrastructure to cope with increased demand. An estimated 129 billion New Zealand dollars is expected to be spent on capital projects between 2019 and 2029 (New Zealand Treasury, 2019) which will present opportunities for UK businesses. Cyclone Gabrielle (February 2023) has also presented new infrastructure challenges and opportunities.

Technology

Technology is New Zealand’s fastest growing industry (New Zealand Technology Investment Association, 2021), with the sector increasing 11% between 2019 and 2020. Telecommunications, computer and information services were the third largest UK service export to New Zealand in the 4 quarters to the end of Q1 2019 (ONS, 2019).

Fintech

New Zealand’s fintech sector is the fastest-growing component of the technology sector. The 5 year compound annual growth rate is 38% and 5 year revenue growth is 705 million New Zealand dollars. The profitability in the New Zealand financial sector provides opportunities for innovative UK fintech companies. It is a small, yet dynamic market with tech savvy consumers and a sophisticated, profitable financial services sector.

Agri-technology

Agriculture is New Zealand’s largest export sector. Both the UK and New Zealand share similar challenges of clean growth including enhancing productivity in human nutrition whilst protecting the environment.

E-commerce

There has been an exponential growth in online shopping in New Zealand with over half of all Kiwis regularly shopping on their devices. With no local presence of eBay or Amazon, domestic platforms such as Trade Me and The Market dominate the e-commerce sector creating opportunities for UK retail companies.

Food and drink

New Zealand is an excellent choice for UK food and drink producers looking for smaller markets to expand into. The food and drink sector are important to New Zealand’s economy both in terms of exports and its domestic market.