Booming dairy exports, supplemented by rising shipments of logs and meat, helped push the country's monthly trade surplus to $818 million - the highest ever for a February.
Even though economists had been expecting a strong surplus figure, the actual result has come in ahead of most predictions, with the market average pick having been for a surplus of around $620 million.
Statistics New Zealand said the February surplus figure, which represented 18% of exports, compared with a surplus of $432 million for February 2013 (11% of exports).
Stats NZ said exports of primary products led the rise in total goods exports in February 2014, including rises for milk powder, logs, and sheepmeat exports.
The value of exported goods rose $663 million (17%) to $4.6 billion in February 2014, compared with February 2013.
Goods exports to China rose $388 million (49%), which was driven by primary products, up $398 million in February 2014.
"The rise in dairy this month was supported by logs and meat, with much of the increase in these commodities destined for China," Stats NZ's industry and labour statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said.
The value of imported goods rose $277 million (8%) to $3.7 billion. The main contributors to the increase were intermediate goods (up $148 million) and capital goods (up $135 million).
Seasonally adjusted exports rose 4% in February 2014 compared with January 2014. Milk powder, butter, and cheese led this increase. Seasonally adjusted imports rose 2.8% in February 2014.
Other key facts for February this year compared with February last year included:
- Milk powder, butter, and cheese led the increase in exports, up $433 million
- Exports to China rose $388 million to $1.2 billion, and to Australia fell $2.4 million to $718 million
- Imports rose $277 million (8%) to $3.7 billion
- Petroleum and products led the increase in imports, up $85 million
- Imports from China rose $4.4 million to $647 million, and from Australia fell $46 million to $444 million
- The trends for the values of exports and imports have been increasing in recent months
- Logs, wood, and wood articles rose $98 million (37%), due to pine logs
- Meat and edible offal rose $92 million (17%), led by sheepmeat
- Aluminium and aluminium articles rose $75 million, due to unwrought aluminium
- Electrical machinery and equipment fell $19 million (22%) to $66 million.
The monthly movements for our top five export destinations (ranked by total annual exports)
were:
- China – up $388 million (49%), led by whole milk powder, pine logs, and sheepmeat. China accounted for 44% of milk powder, butter, and cheese exports.
- Australia – down $2.4 million (0.3%), due to unwrought silver
- United States – down $8.4 million (2.1%), due to casein
- Japan – up $85 million (44%), due to unwrought aluminium
- Korea – up $11 million (8.9%), led by unwrought aluminium.
Trade balance, monthly
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7 Comments
We should be circumspect about whether this is good news or not .
Maybe the joke is on us
Kiwis who work for downstream businesses get a wage , but the real profits for all our hard work and innovation go offshore in
- Interest payments ( Aussie banks and Japanses lenders) , and
- Dividends to......you guessed it Aussie parent Banks and mutual funds and Asian providers of Capital .
- Franchise and royalty fees for everyting from BP Fuel filing stations to Mc Donalds hamburgers and hundreds of multinationals in between.
New Zealand assets are to a significant extent owned by foreigners, this includes most of the Banks , al the Insureres , and a huge chunk of the privatised assets , and foreigners are not just clipping the ticket , its real big money at play
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