21 Mar 2014

NZ deal with Chinese online store

12:00 pm on 21 March 2014

The Government has signed a deal with China's biggest online store, Alibaba, to showcase and sell New Zealand products on its e-commerce site.

Alibaba's head office in Hangzhou.

Alibaba's head office in Hangzhou. Photo: AFP

The store is bigger than Amazon and Ebay combined and Trade Minister Tim Groser, who signed the deal with Alibaba in Shanghai, says it could potentially be huge.

He said the company connects Chinese businesses with suppliers to buy in bulk, and would save New Zealand companies the costs of running a business in China.

Mr Groser said New Zealand seafood, including green shell mussels, oysters and frozen blue cod, will be first to be marketed on the site from April. "I also tried to make the pitch that Chinese consumers should give white wine a try," he said.