A trade expert says Aotearoa's relationship with India has to become deeper at all levels before it becomes more profitable.
AUT economics lecturer Rahul Sen spoke ahead of a bilateral meeting between PM Chris Hipkins and India's PM Narendra Modi — taking place in Papua New Guinea.
Sen said New Zealand's trading relationship with India is "not really where it should be."
"We have fallen off the radar," he said, noting that India isn't one of New Zealand's top 10 trading partners and that over the last five years, exports had fallen by a billion dollars.
"The expectation a couple of years ago was that we were going to get a free trade agreement, which would allow businesses goods access, particularly key exports."
"But I think what wasn't realised is that we were only looking at what goods we can sell in India. We weren't looking at what India could do for us and what we could do for the growth and development of India.
"You cannot just aim for selling goods and services. You have to look at a long-term development partnership in terms of increasing investments," he added.
Sen contrasted New Zealand's relative failure with the success of Australia in enhancing their trade.
Australia's PM Anthony Albanese recently took part in a widely seen photo opportunity, touring the boundaries of Narendra Modi Stadium alongside his Indian counterpart.
The trade expert said Australia's cultural and diplomatic efforts gave them a "first mover advantage", and both countries had realised the benefits of diversifying their trade away from China.
"Here in New Zealand, we're very focused on one single trading partner – 30% of our trade is with one single partner."
While dairy exports to China are worth billions, dairy isn't even in the top ten for New Zealand's 2022 exports to India.
Sen said New Zealand's negotiators needed to demonstrate a commitment to a "comprehensive economic cooperation partnership" to change that.
Q+A with Jack Tame is public interest journalism funded by NZ on Air
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