A delegation of senior Fiji Trade and Investment Bureau officials and representatives of garment manufacturers will be in New Zealand this week seeking to reverse recent marketing trends.
The Fiji Times quotes the Bureau's chief executive, Leilun Khan, as saying New Zealand was at one time Fiji's biggest market for textile, clothing and footwear exports.
Ms Khan says tariff reductions in New Zealand have had implications for Fiji's garment and footwear exports, which have been further complicated by rules of origin conditions under the SPARTECA agreement.
Ms Khan says New Zealand is no longer a garment manufacturing country and has shifted its focus to fashion design.
She says given Fiji's proximity and direct shipping and air links, the trade mission aims to promote Fiji as an alternative production base for small volume fashion orders from New Zealand.
