Market environments conditions, the best wines are the whites, and Australian
wineries have garnered accolades around the world for
Australia and New Zealand are mature economies with high quality white wines at good prices. British heritage. Their economies have grown at a slower pace than those of the Asian countries, with growth rates at about 2 to 4 percent, typical of other developed nations. Both Australia and New Zealand targeted Asia and in particular ASEAN region as the future source of growth and New Zealand with its 4 million people is basically agrarian. are in the process of shifting away from their European The per capita income was 12,900 USD in 2003. The past. In 1994, trade between Australia and ASEAN domestic economy can be subdivided into five industries, countries reached 8 billion USD, growing at 20 percent all with substantial international involvement: forest annually. Following in Australias footsteps after its products including paper, dairy products, meat products, emergence in the 1980s from a socialist government with fruits and wool. Traditionally, the country has exported high tariffs and import controls, New Zealand is also agricultural and forest products and imported targeting Asian countries. Its largest trading partner is manufactured goods, still the dominant pattern. But Japan. economic growth and FDI by global firms have combined to make New Zealand a player in the telecommunications, Australia, a vast country more than twice the size of India, information technology, and office equipment industries. has only 19.5 million inhabitants. The per capita income Because of its small size and relative isolation from world was 19,500 USD in 2003. Its economic base is in raw markets, multinational companies such as IBM, Microsoft, materials, in particular minerals, and in agriculture. Its ratio Ericsson, Honeywell, Canon, and Philips approach New of exports to GDP has been relatively low because of Zealand as a low-cost and low-risk test market for new protectionist government policies initiated after WW II; but products. after the election of a new Labour government on the late 1970s, Australia has gradually opened up. A free-floating As a result of the growing trade exchanges, the centuries- exchange rate was introduced in the early 1980s as the old fear of larger-scale immigration from the Asian financial sector was deregulated and FDI increased. The countries seems to have waned; and in New Zealand in change has also moved Australia away from the concept of particular, with its Maori native culture, there is growing a self-sufficient economy and toward a more opened public acceptance of the contributions made to the market place, which in turn has allowed Australias export economy by professionals and other immigrants from Asian products better access to foreign markets. Exports have cultures. also been helped by a weakening Australian dollar. Australia and New Zealand have traditional ties to the Both Australia and New Zealand in recent years have British Commonwealth, which gave the countries preferred developed a large and expanding wine industry with a trading status with the United Kingdom. When the UK strong export performance. Given the soil and climate joined the European Common Market in 1973, however, the favoured trading status was lost, which led to severe Pacific Economic Cooperation) and also participate in ARF economic strains and ultimately new open-market policies (ASEAN Regional Forum). in both countries. They have since reoriented their economies, and have long sought a free trade agreement with ASEAN. Both countries are members of APEC (Asia-