A group of Dunedin businesses credit a sister city relationship with Shanghai with creating deals worth tens of millions of dollars.
The deals were made during a recent trip by a delegation from six businesses led by the Otago Chamber of Commerce.
Mosgiel-based manuka honey producer New Zealand Honey has a supply deal with Shanghai group Orient International Holdings.
Chairman Peter Ward said the agreement is significant and could only have been achieved with help from the chamber of commerce and Dunedin City Council.
Mr Ward expects his company to greatly expand its operations over the next 12 months.
Dessert maker Cowell's Pavlova is pursuing a supply deal with the Orient group and says it could never have gone to China on its own.
Dunedin City Council says the deals are the first economic fruits of the agreement with Shanghai, which began as a cultural exchange 20 years ago.
The Cowell's Pavlova kitchen. Photo: RNZ