A free trade agreement (FTA) signed between New Zealand and Malaysia today has been hailed as a success by kiwifruit marketer Zespri, whose sales have been growing in Malaysia for several years.
The Malaysian market is now one of Zespri’s largest in South East Asia, CEO Lain Jager said, speaking from the signing in Kuala Lumpur. The market is worth NZ$8m to the company.
“Kiwifruit is New Zealand’s seventh largest export to Malaysia and today’s FTA signing is an exciting step towards strengthening New Zealand-Malaysia trade opportunities for Zespri and for New Zealand,” he said.
“Malaysia presents significant future growth opportunities for our industry and we already have plans to boost our staff presence here. The elimination of the 15 per cent tariff paid on kiwifruit from 2010 makes this market even more attractive.”
Zespri kiwifruit are sold in leading supermarket chains throughout the country, and next year the company is aiming to sell over 1m trays. Sales have risen 80 per cent in the last two years.
