A near-six percent fall in the value of dairy exports led the overall value of New Zealand exports to fall 1.6% to NZ$11.3 billion in the June quarter from March, seasonally adjusted figures released by Statistics New Zealand show.
The value of imports also fell during the quarter by a similar amount to NZ$11.9 billion, leaving a trade deficit of NZ$664 million for the quarter.
The trend for exports has now fallen in three straight quarters since its record high in the September 2011 quarter, Stats NZ said.
In contrast, the trend for imports has kept rising steadily since the September 2009 quarter. However, the import trend was still below its September 2008 quarter peak, it said.
Exports down
"Milk powder, butter, and cheese (New Zealand’s largest export commodity) led the fall in seasonally adjusted exports in the June 2012 quarter, down 5.7 percent (NZ$164 million). This followed a 6.8 percent fall in the March 2012 quarter. Quantities for the June 2012 quarter fell 5.7 percent," Stats NZ said.
Other key quarterly falls in commodity export values were:
Fish, crustaceans, and molluscs, down 6.2 percent (NZ$23 million), with quantities down 13 percent; wool, down 11 percent (NZ$22 million), with quantities also down 2.5 percent; meat and edible offal (New Zealand’s second largest export commodity), down 1.5 percent (NZ$19 million), although quantities were up 2.5 percent.
Key rises in export values were:
Casein and caseinates, up 32 percent (NZ$62 million); fruit, up 14 percent (NZ$48 million), with quantities up 15 percent; logs, wood, and wood articles, up 3.4 percent (NZ$25 million), with quantities up 11 percent.
Oil imports down
On the import side of the ledger, the value of intermediate goods imports decreased 11 percent (NZ$620 million) following an increase of 5.0 percent (NZ$277 million) in the March 2012 quarter.
"The decrease was mainly due to crude oil, down 30 percent (NZ$497 million). Crude oil is not seasonally adjusted. Excluding crude oil, total intermediate goods fell 3.5 percent in the current quarter," Stats NZ said.
"Consumption goods increased 3.2 percent (NZ$89 million) in the June 2012 quarter. The value of consumption goods has been mainly increasing since the December 2009 quarter," it said.
"Capital goods increased 1.6 percent (NZ$35 million). Machinery and plant rose 13 percent (NZ$213 million) and was almost offset by transport equipment, down 37 percent (NZ$178 million)."
Monthly trade surplus
Despite the quarterly deficit, New Zealand recorded a trade surplus in the June 2012 month, Stats NZ said.
"For the June 2012 month, export values increased NZ$244 million (6.2 percent) compared with June 2011, and imports increased NZ$114 million (3.0 percent). The trade balance for the June 2012 month was a surplus of NZ$331 million (7.9 percent of exports). This compares with an average deficit of 4.8 percent of exports over the previous five June months," it said.
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