Revenue Minister Judith Collins has welcomed a second round of negotiations between China and New Zealand tax officials aimed at updating the current double tax agreement signed between the two countries in 1986.

“The aim is to agree a new treaty, adopting modern treaty language and concepts, including agreed measures to deal with base erosion and profit shifting,” Ms Collins says.

New Zealand tax officials will meet with Chinese officials in Beijing next week for the second time since 2014, to discuss a new treaty.

Double tax agreements are an important facilitator of trade and investment between countries because they ensure businesses don’t get taxed twice.

They provide greater certainty for both taxpayers and tax administrators about how cross-border investment income will be taxed. They reduce compliance costs and lower tax on some income.

Tax agreements are also used in the global fight against tax evasion, with signatories agreeing to share more tax information under the global standard set by the G20 and OECD.

China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner in goods and second largest overall including trade in services.

“In this context, it is vital to ensure our double tax agreement with China is up to date and follows best practices,” Ms Collins says.

| A Beehive release  || August 11,  2017   |||

One of New Zealand’s fastest rising consumer production companies, The Pure Food Co, is about to take off as it has opened a massive new manufacturing facility in Auckland.

The Pure Food Co, rated one of the rising stars in the latest Deloitte Fast 50 Index, had taken control of its business by ramping up opportunities after building their own production plant in Mt Wellington.

Pure Food founders Sam Bridgewater and Maia Royal have spent the last three years growing their food business at Auckland’s food innovation incubator The FoodBowl.

They had reached the point where they had enough investment to build their own 600 plus square metre manufacturing facility to fulfil their goal of supplying every hospital and aged care facility with high quality pureed food with clinical benefits.

The FoodBowl accelerates or incubates clients’ progress so they can develop and prove their worth to investors to back them to build a new plant so they can start their own independent production.

Pure Food produced pureed food predominately for the growing elderly population, or anyone in need of better nutrition. Bridgewater says the new factory is future-proofed so they can grow about 15 times without needing to move. This will allow them to expand throughout the rest of New Zealand and start to explore export markets.

With support from partners, Bridgewater and Royal established The Pure Food Co after watching a family member suffer from swallowing difficulties. The business is a personal quest to bring food to people with eating difficulties, providing meals into the aged and healthcare industry nationwide.

To begin with, Bridgewater and Royal didn’t have the technology and manufacturing skills to produce their texture modified products, so the FoodBowl was the perfect first step for them to trial and iterate development of their products.

“We started in a small room to get proof of concept and samples in the market then jumped up to a large room doing multiple 700kg batches as the demand grew, eventually getting to 2 tonne per day. The FoodBowl helped by bringing in new bits of equipment for us to trial and scale up with,” Bridgewater says.

“The benefit was a wide range of technologies under one roof for us to assess within our production line. It meant we didn’t have to spend a lot of money on pieces of equipment that we might not actually need down the line.

“Being under constant scrutiny from The FoodBowl pushed us to take it to the next level. We now have successfully commissioned a new plant within time and budget that exceeds MPI’s regulatory standards.

“We couldn’t have done things as fast without the assistance of The FoodBowl. They have introduced us to some of our suppliers like our packaging and machinery that we are working with now in our new factory. It was a perfect stepping stone for us and drove us to reach new standards and scale to ensure we were well equipped to make that leap out on to our own.”

The Pure Food Co is now providing close to 40,000 meals a month and has landed large clients such as Ryman and Compass group who caterer to hospitals.

|  A MakeLemonade Pure Food Co release  ||  August 9,  2017   |||

The New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) today filed charges against Pacific Aerospace Limited for three breaches of the United Nations Sanctions (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) Regulations 2006, and one charge under section 203(1)(b) of the Customs and Excise Act 1996.

The charges are in relation to the export of aircraft parts, and for making an erroneous declaration about parts exported inside the aircraft but not declared.

The maximum penalty for a breach of the Regulations is a maximum of 12 months imprisonment or a fine not exceeding $10,000 in the case of an individual or in the case of a company or other corporation, a fine not exceeding $100,000.

The maximum penalty if convicted of an offence under section 203(1)(b) of the Customs and Excise Act is a fine not exceeding $1,000 for an individual, or a fine not exceeding $5,000 for a body corporate.

As legal proceedings are underway, Customs can make no further comment.

|  An NZ Custums Service statement  ||  August 9,  2017   ///

 MODESTO, Calif., Aug. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- E. & J. Gallo Winery (Gallo) announced today that it has been awarded the exclusive rights to distribute New Zealand's Saint Clair Family Estate wines in the United States, effective immediately.

Known for producing some of the best Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough region, Saint Clair Family Estate is the latest addition to Gallo's premium import portfolio. "Saint Clair Family Estate is well-known around the world and we are excited to introduce this award-winning Sauvignon Blanc to American consumers," said Roger Nabedian, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Gallo's Premium Wine Division.

Owners Neal and Judy Ibbotson first planted vines in 1978, and were one of the early family pioneers to the Marlborough wine industry. Today, Saint Clair Family Estate owns fifteen vineyards located throughout the Wairau, Awatere, and Omaka Valleys of Marlborough, as well as Hawkes Bay. This allows the winery to specialize its plantings by grape variety in the sub-regions that provide the most suitable terroir for each.

"Saint Clair Family Estate is thrilled to have entered into a partnership with E. & J. Gallo Winery as the exclusive national distributor for the Saint Clair brand in the USA," said founder Neal Ibbotson. He added, "We share many of the same values – family, passion and quality – and the move is an exciting opportunity for us to further develop our brand in the USA market."

The Saint Clair name originated from the vineyard property, first settled by the Sinclair family. Pioneer James Sinclair built one of the first homes in Blenheim and was closely associated with the early development of the town. Over time the name of the property reverted to the original Saint Clair.

The Saint Clair Family Estate Sauvignon Blanc will retail for $28. While the wine is already available in select states, the national roll-out is scheduled for Q1 2018.

About E. & J. Gallo WineryFounded by brothers Ernest and Julio Gallo in 1933 in Modesto, California, E. & J. Gallo Winery is the world's largest family-owned winery and the acclaimed producer of award-winning wines and spirits featured in more than 90 countries around the globe. A pioneer in the art of grape growing, winemaking, sustainable practices, marketing and worldwide distribution, Gallo crafts and imports wines and spirits to suit a diverse range of tastes and occasions, from everyday offerings to boutique, luxury bottlings.

The Gallo portfolio is comprised of more than 80 unique brands, including Barefoot Cellars, Dark Horse, and Gallo Family Vineyards, as well as premium box wines The Naked Grape and Vin Vault. Premium offerings include Apothic, Carnivor, Chateau Souverain, Columbia Winery, Ecco Domani, Edna Valley Vineyard, J Vineyards & Winery, Louis M. Martini, MacMurray Estate Vineyards, Mirassou, Orin Swift, Talbott Vineyards, and William Hill Estate, along with highly acclaimed imports, such as Alamos, Brancaia, La Marca, Las Rocas, Martín Códax, Whitehaven, and LUX Wines, importers of Allegrini, Argiano, Jermann, Pieropan and Renato Ratti. Gallo Spirits offers New Amsterdam Vodka and Gin and E&J Brandy, in addition to imported Scotch whiskies from Whyte & Mackay, including The Dalmore, Jura Single Malt and John Barr Blended.

Minister for Food Safety David Bennett met with Dr Penny Lukito, the chairwoman of Indonesia’s National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) this morning.

BPOM is one of Indonesia’s five main regulators for food safety, animal health, and plant health.

It is responsible for the regulation and product safety testing of all processed foods, both domestic and imported.

“Meetings like this are important to ensuring that both agencies are aware of the goals each are working towards within their country’s food safety systems, a key tool underpinning agricultural trade,” Mr Bennett says.

BPOM and Ministry for Primary Industries signed a Food Safety Agreement in 2014 which promotes cooperation on food safety, particularly as it relates to management of risk and trade in processed food products.

“Indonesia’s demand for imported food with changing dietary habits, including milk, yoghurt, red meat, cheese and baby foods.

“New Zealand needs to have a good working relationship on all levels, but especially at a food safety level to ensure we can meet their needs, and expand our export markets.

“Next year will mark 60 years of diplomatic relationships with the two countries and it’s always positive to continue to solidify the relationship,” Mr Bennett says|

  A Beehive release  ||  August 1,  2017   |||

The New Zealand Defence Force has signed a multi-year contract with forwarder Kuehne + Nagel.

Under the agreement, the forwarder will be the global supplier of domestic and international freight forwarding and customs services to the Defence Force, which consists of the Royal New Zealand Navy, the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

The scope includes specialised services such as aircraft support incorporating aircraft-on-ground and engine movements.

Kuehne + Nagel has set-up a ‘control tower’ with a dedicated team of experts in key locations to ensure continuity of supply and real-time visibility and online tracking tools to monitor cargo movements.

The Defence Force’s joint support component commander, Colonel Ruth Putze, said: "The movement of freight in support of domestic and international operations is critical to our business. We are therefore very happy to be working with Kuehne + Nagel as a highly qualified and professional service provider."

The forwarder’s New Zealand managing director, Michael Aldwell, added: "We are delighted to partner with the New Zealand Defence Force as their exclusive supplier for freight forwarding services and look forward to delivering customer excellence by drawing on our global expertise in government and defence logistics as well as aid & relief operations."

| An AirCargo release  ||  August 1,  2017   |||

Maersk Line has announced it will resume its weekly container shipping service to Wellington.

The service will return once CentrePort has completed works that will allow its ship-to-shore cranes to operate. These works were required following damage sustained in the November 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. They are expected to be largely complete by September.

The Jens Maersk, deployed on Maersk Line’s Northern Star service and capable of carrying 3,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit), will make its first call at CentrePort on 18 September.

Gerard Morrison, Maersk Line Oceania’s managing director, applauded CentrePort’s efforts to complete the structural repairs needed to become fully operational again.

“CentrePort has kept us fully informed of its progress over the last nine months and we are very pleased to return to Wellington with our weekly Northern Star service. It allows us to serve our customers in the region faster and more efficiently,” said Mr. Morrison.

CentrePort Chief Executive Derek Nind welcomed the return of Maersk.

“We look forward to working with Maersk in the future as we resume our strong growth in container shipping volumes.

“This is great news for the region’s economy,” Derek Nind said.

Maersk Line’s Northern Star service deploys six 3,000-TEU sized vessels. The service makes six weekly port calls around New Zealand each week, connecting Kiwi consumers to goods, businesses to markets and enabling global trade. Through Maersk Line’s service network, New Zealand has access to 113 countries around the world.

Maersk Line is the world’s largest container shipping company, known for reliable, flexible and eco-efficient services. Part of A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S, headquartered in Copenhagen

| A Centrep release  || August 1,  2017   |||

UPS (NYSE: UPS) is expanding its ability to ship alcohol, wine and beer to consumers around the world. Using one of the UPS Express™ shipping services, wine connoisseurs can have their favorite cases of wine shipped directly from the vineyards to their home.

UPS is helping wineries reach consumers living in 24 of the top 35 wine importing countries, and distilleries in 9 of the top 25 spirit importing countries. Depending on the destination, orders can arrive at the business or consumer’s home within 3 days. All alcohol shipments require an adult signature upon delivery.

According to the International Organization of Vine and Wine, 43% of all wine is consumed in a country other than where it is produced. The global wine market is expected to reach $380 billion by 2022.[1] The countries producing and exporting the most wine include Italy, Spain, France, Chile, Australia, South Africa and the United States. [2]

Europe is the market leader in wine production and consumption. UPS will ship to 23 countries in Europe including these primary markets: Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Wine consumption is growing rapidly in Asian markets. By 2020, China is expected to surpass the U.S. as the world’s third-largest largest wine importer.[3] The fast growing middle class is driving the demand for premium alcohol. Last year, China imported $890 million worth of spirits globally.[4]

UPS will now ship wine, beer and liquor to consumers and businesses in 11 countries throughout Asia Pacific including: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. In Malaysia, only businesses can import wine and beer.

Mexico is earning its place at the table of major wine countries, as consumption has increased by more than 40% in the last 10 years.[5] UPS is shipping wine to Mexico, Argentina and the Dominican Republic. Mexicans are also thirsty for America’s beer, importing $187 million worth in 2016.[6]

Canada and the U.S. are key trade partners and as more Canadians buy products online they’re also adding alcohol to their shopping carts. With the expansion, UPS can deliver to 5 of the Canadian Provinces covering 95% of all alcohol imports.[7] The Provinces include Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

Boeger, a small family-owned winery in Northern California, recently started global shipping. “It was hard telling our international visitors they couldn’t have our wine because we couldn’t get it to them,” said Tara De La Rosa, hospitality and logistics manager. “We are always looking for ways to expand globally and have our wines on tables around the world.”

De La Rosa and her team use Paperless™ Invoice to simplify customs clearance. The UPS shipping system helps wineries, breweries and distilleries avoid delays by uploading all of the required alcohol-related documentation for each country electronically.

UPS provides automatic tracking and visibility allowing the consumer to follow an order on its global journey. Boeger winery visitors will receive an email notification, in their own language, the day before the scheduled delivery.

The UPS Express shipping portfolio features three unique service levels: UPS Worldwide Express Plus™ for early morning delivery, UPS Express for midday deliveries and UPS Express Saver™ for end-of-day deliveries.

For more information, visit the UPS International Alcohol Shipping Guide.

It is the shipper's responsibility to know and comply with all applicable international laws and regulations

Alcohol Shipments Can Be Delivered to the Following CountriesArgentina* Finland* Macau SingaporeAustria* France* Malta* Slovenia*Belgium* Greece* Mexico* South Africa***Bulgaria* Hong Kong Monaco* South KoreaCanada** Hungary* Netherlands* Sweden*China India** New Zealand Switzerland*Cyprus* Italy* Norway* TaiwanCzech Republic* Japan Philippines ThailandDenmark* Liechtenstein* Portugal* United Kingdom*Dominican Republic Luxembourg* Romania*

*Only accepts Wine

**Some areas are restricted

*** Only accepts Wine and Beer

|  A UPS release  ||  July 31,  2017   |||

It was an all-New Zealand affair in Orange County, California today as Zespri officially opened its regional office to manage growing sales across Northern, Central and Southern America.

Zespri Chief Executive Lain Jager says Zespri is growing strongly across North America with most of this growth coming from the new gold variety Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, which is proving hugely popular.

“The New Zealand kiwifruit industry is on track to more than double sales to $4.5 billion by 2025 and an important part of this growth will come from developing markets like North America, as well growing sales in our more established markets. Zespri is relaunching the kiwifruit category in the United States and the wider Americas region to attract new consumers and grow sales,” says Mr Jager.

Kiwifruit in the US is an underdeveloped category at number 21 in the overall fruit bowl compared to ranking in the top 10 for most European and Asian countries. However sales of all kiwifruit in the US – Zespri and other brands – are growing well above general fruit sales.

Zespri SunGold sales volumes in North America have grown over 100 percent over the past two years and are projected to hit nearly US$50 million in 2018/19, as consumers respond to the delicious tropical sweet flavour. At present, around 40 percent of SunGold sales are through Asian-American retail outlets, as these communities are more familiar with Zespri Kiwifruit. However the new variety appeals to mainstream American consumers too, with exciting growth through mainstream customers.

Mr Jager explains that retailers’ needs are changing and Zespri is working with distributors to meet those needs. “By appointing market development managers, we’ve been able to work with key retailers to build meaningful programmes to expand our distribution across the country and returned more value to our retail partners and New Zealand growers,” says Mr Jager.

Zespri is increasing its marketing investment to introduce more people to the great taste of Zespri Kiwifruit with an integrated PR, digital and social media campaign which includes in-store geotargeted mobile advertising, along with new eye-catching retail packaging.

Mr Jager explains Zespri is growing its offshore presence to deliver increased sales around the world, officially opening an office in Dubai earlier this year to service the regions of the Middle East, India and Africa. “More than half of our 450+ staff are based offshore now, with offices in 21 countries delivering sales and marketing programmes in 59 countries around the world this season,” says Mr Jager.

A Maori cultural delegation officially opened the new office at an event with senior Zespri executives, Ambassador Tim Groser and Mayor of Newport Beach Kevin Muldoon, with karakia/prayers and waiata/songs to bless the new whakairo/carving commissioned for the office. Carver James Tapiata has made several other carvings for Zespri offices in New Zealand and around the world and he created this work Te Puawaitanga (The Flowering) for the new office. Around 10 people will be based in the office.

| A Zespri release  || July 28,  2017   |||

Trade Minister Todd McClay says Thailand and New Zealand have agreed to market access improvements for our exporters and announced a new agricultural cooperation programme.

“In Bangkok today we signed an agreement increasing the volume of New Zealand dairy products that can enter Thailand under a preferential tariff rate. For some products this will mean a preference increase of between 10 and 20 per cent,” Mr McClay says.

“We also agreed to launch a new programme that will help Thailand to improve its domestic dairy production and processing.”

“This is a positive step forward for our bilateral trade relationship.”

“Thailand is now our eighth largest market. Total goods exports between our countries have increased almost 150 per cent since the Thailand New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership was signed.”

Mr McClay met with the Thai Airways President who also confirmed that Thai Airways will be launching daily flights between Bangkok and Auckland later this year.

“This new service will be a welcome addition for travellers, international students and business people. More than 100,000 Kiwis travelled to Thailand last year and tens of thousands of Thai tourists visited New Zealand,” Mr McClay says.

|  A Beehive release  ||  July 26,  2017   |||