New Zealand trade balance swings to surplus in June
Staff Writer |
New Zealand reported a NZD 127 million trade surplus in June of 2016, compared to a NZD 182 million deficit a year earlier.
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Exports rose 2.6 percent, boosted by a 47 percent jump in kiwifruit sales mainly to China and Japan while imports slumped 4.6 percent, mainly due to intermediate goods.
Exports reached NZD 4257 million, with kiwifruit sales rising to NZD 331 million. Shipments of fruit recorded the highest increase (up 30 percent), followed by logs, wood, and wood articles (up 11 percent) and milk powder, butter, and cheese (up 4.3 percent).
Exports to China went up 18 percent, those to the United States increased 4.7 percent and to Japan jumped 48 percent while sales to Australia (-8.5 percent) and the European Union (-1.9 percent) fell.
Imports declined to NZD 4130 million as intermediate and capital goods shrank in value while consumption goods rose.
Among intermediate goods, processed industrial supplies (such as fertiliser, soya bean oil cake, and palm oil cake) were down 3.7 percent; primary industrial supplies other than food and beverages (such as calcium phosphates) decreased 37 percent and crude oil fell 24 percent.
Purchases of machinery and plant (such as computers and cellphones) decreased 2.6 percent while imports of transport equipment rose 3.3 percent.
In addition, imports of non-durable goods (such as retail medicines) were up 9.4 percent; durable goods (such as furniture) increased 8.0 percent and semi-durable goods (such as textile articles and clothing) grew 1.8 percent.
New Zealand imported mainly from China, the European Union and Australia while purchases from the U.S. and Japan fell.
Considering the second quarter of the year, exports rose 5.8 percent from the previous period and imports edged up 0.5 percent. ■
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