I am back in Tauranga, home to New Zealand's second largest port. In 'NZ Export Year 2007', the Port of Tauranga represents the frontline for many Kiwi exporters throughout much of North Island.
I spent yesterday in Auckland at NZTE's offices in ANZ Tower. They hosted a meeting to discuss the NZ Pavillion at CEBIT 2008. The pitch was strong and demonstrated a commitment to assist NZ ICT businesses build a presence at the world's largest IT Expo.
Driving back to Tauranga, National Radio News once again reported that the NZ dollar sat close to its 20-year high against the US greenback. Yet this morning, I am strangely optimistic that despite this perverse cost to exporters, the situation is not all doom and gloom.
Overnight, Team New Zealand finally conceded the America's Cup to Alinghi. The immediate response of NZTE, through Trevor Mallard, has been to put up NZ$10 million to keep Team NZ afloat. This is good news. It demonstrates strength in adversity, a quality demanded of many exporters in today's hostile exchange rate environment.
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