Iran & new zealand : Trade & Exhibition Information

Description:

New Zealand, known as The Land of the Long White Cloud, encompasses two major islands stretching north and south and separated by Cook Strait. They are fringed with numerous smaller islands. The more developed North Island (116,031 sq km/44,800 sq miles) is home to the main cities including the country's largest city Auckland; its rolling green hills are dotted with sheep and horses, and the central heartland pulses with geothermal activity - find boiling mud pools, geysers and active volcanoes. The dramatic South Island (153,540 sq km/59,283 sq miles), is a stunning microcosm of snow-covered alps, fjords, glaciers and charming British-style towns like Christchurch and Dunedin.

There are four Associated Territories: the Cook Islands, which lie 3,500km (2,175 miles) northeast of New Zealand; Niue, 920km (570 miles) west of the Cook Islands; Tokelau, three atolls about 960km (600 miles) northwest of Niue; and the Ross Dependency, which consists of over 700,000 sq km (270,270 sq miles) of the Antarctic.

Location:

Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia

Area:

total: 268,680 sq km
land: NA sq km
water: NA sq km
note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands

Population:

4.3 million (2008).

language:
English is the common and everyday language, but other languages are also spoken, including Maori, which is New Zealand's second official language (spoken by the indigenous Maori people who constitute approximately 15% of the population).

Climate:
Subtropical in the north and temperate in the south. The north has no extremes of heat or cold but winter can be quite cool in the south, with snow in the mountains. The eastern areas often experience drought conditions in summer; the west, particularly in the South Island, has more rain. Spring, summer and autumn are very pleasant throughout New Zealand. Winters tend to be wet and cool, but there's great winter skiing in the centre of the North Island, and in the South Island's Southern Alps, where heli-skiing is particularly popular.

Economy - overview:
New Zealand is primarily thought of as an agricultural country and, although the sector employs less than 10% of the workforce and contributes just 5% of GDP, it accounts for 30% of the country's export income, primarily from wool, meat, dairy and woods products. Energy-related natural resources, principally coal but also natural gas, have been heavily developed. There are also deposits of iron, gold and silica.
Between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s, New Zealand underwent one of the most radical economic transformations of any Western industrialised country, with wholesale privatisation, abolition of subsidies, tariff barriers and corporate regulations, and dismantling of many welfare systems (although spending has risen sharply to tackle the pensions crisis afflicting the developed world). The reforms have also meant that New Zealand is more dependent on foreign trade.
Like the global economy, New Zealand slipped into a recession in 2008, amid drought, high energy costs and a housing market slump. The economy shrank by 1.9% in the last quarter of 2008, inflation is running at 3.4%, and the unemployment rate rose to a six-year high of 5%.
Australia is New Zealand's largest trading partner, and the two governments have established a completely free trading regime between them. New Zealand is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the South Pacific Forum and the Asian-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum.

Economy:
New Zealand is primarily thought of as an agricultural country and, although the sector employs less than 10% of the workforce and contributes just 5% of GDP, it accounts for 30% of the country's export income, primarily from wool, meat, dairy and woods products. Energy-related natural resources, principally coal but also natural gas, have been heavily developed. There are also deposits of iron, gold and silica.
Between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s, New Zealand underwent one of the most radical economic transformations of any Western industrialised country, with wholesale privatisation, abolition of subsidies, tariff barriers and corporate regulations, and dismantling of many welfare systems (although spending has risen sharply to tackle the pensions crisis afflicting the developed world). The reforms have also meant that New Zealand is more dependent on foreign trade.
Like the global economy, New Zealand slipped into a recession in 2008, amid drought, high energy costs and a housing market slump. The economy shrank by 1.9% in the last quarter of 2008, inflation is running at 3.4%, and the unemployment rate rose to a six-year high of 5%.
Australia is New Zealand's largest trading partner, and the two governments have established a completely free trading regime between them. New Zealand is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the South Pacific Forum and the Asian-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum.

Industries:

equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining

Exports:
Dairy, meat, wood and wood products, fish and machinery.
• Main trade partners: Australia, China, Germany, Japan, UK and USA.

Imports:
Machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics.

Exchange rates:
http://www.worldtravelguide.net/country/196/climate/Australia-and-South-Pacific/New-Zealand.html

GDP :
US$129 billion (2008).

New Zealand Government Online

Ministry of Consumer Affairs

Ministry Economic Development

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Ministry of Social Development

New Zealand Government E-Commerce Website