On 1 November 40+ PEN members, other Pacific exporters and Tongan importers participated in a Zoom briefing on Tonga.

This was an extension of earlier 2022 Zoom briefings on Cook Islands and Samoa.

The briefing featured the NZ Trade Commissioner for the Pacific (who is based in Suva), the ANZ 's Head of Trade and Supply Chain for NZ and the Pacific (based in Auckland) and the ANZ's Tongan country Manager (based in Nuku'alofa).

There was good interaction between participants. The conclusion was that there are many opportunities in Tonga for NZ exporters.

PEN aims to keep up the cycle of these briefings in 2023, but it realises they need refining and are really an early introduction to the Tongan and other Pacific markets.

We plan to try and organise a series of trade visits for NZ Pacific exporters to some of these countries in 2023.

The briefings are seen as a good start.

Readers who would like to participate in these briefings should contact the editor at cbroad.pen@gmail.com