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New Zealand is ranked as number 20 for GDP. The Kiwi produces US$93 Billion per year, or around US$25,000 per person. The New Zealander are pretty hard working people and from the age of 14, many have already started working part time after school and on weekends, and work the rest of their life until they are 65 when they retire. The NZ economy has always been based on agriculture or farm products, such as the sheep wool and meat exports, fruits, as well as many dairy products. However recently things are starting to change.
New
Zealand has expanded
their operations and now is also exporting many different
products from several different industries. One of those
products is seafood, which are grown on marine farm, such
as their big green mussels. There is also the industry of
wood production for building, which are able to fulfil the
entire domestic market and also to export. NZ wines are
also very well received overseas. Other sectors which also
add to the economy, including plastics, food, technology,
and the big one of tourism, and education which have been
attracting people from all over the world.
NZ also has very beneficial
trade agreements. For example, NZ does not produce a single car, but they do not charge any import tax on car imports. Therefore any person can import any car from any part of the world and pay zero import tax. The number of products that acquire no import tax is wide and the process of importation is relatively easy. They prefer to instead of producing many different products for such a little market, to concentrate on producing the products in which have the most export potential.
The Housing Sector is central in the NZ economy, with 2/3 of the population owning their own homes. Recently the market had a boom, and houses valued up to 60% in a single year in some locations. The low interest rates, which stand at around 4.5 % y. provides secure and profitable investments. The inflation rate of 2.4% y. does not allow the worker to have any significant loss of income, guaranteeing the stability of prices. In recent times many incentives have been developed to bring more capital to the country. One of them is discounts for courses to international students. This education market which is already the 8th largest in Australia, now also has been implanted in New Zealand, which also allow the international student to work part time while studying. The money brought over by the international student represent millions of dollars to the country's revenue, and due to the growth in this market it also employ many specialized people, not only in teaching, but also accommodation, food, and services industries. Many of the parents of the students also come to visit, also bringing more money to the country tourism industry.
The New Zealand economy does not grow
alone. The government has a huge part, with many programs very well defined to help producers. In the export sector, the government almost takes you buy the hand and gives you a buyer, making very easy, even for those who have never exported before, to have their product available to the world. In the Tourism sector the government showed that by working together and not in competition brings many benefits for everyone. The Kiwi dollar is much cheaper compared to the Euro or the US dollar and other currencies, and that makes NZ an attractive place not only for tourism, products and services, but also for exports. NZ has made various free trade agreements with the principal ones being Australia and Singapore. Although the typical Kiwi always thinks that the neighbour's grass is always greener, the truth is, that the product made in New Zealand is increasingly becoming praised overseas, with this website being one of them.
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This
grass is greener than mine |
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