May 1, 2014
New Zealand''s March trade surplus expands
In March, New Zealand''s trade surplus widened as Chinese demand for dairy products continued to soar, driving the monthly and annual export receipts to new records.
The trade surplus was NZD920 million (US$787 million) in March, from a revised NZD793 million (US$678 million) in February, and NZD732 million (US$626 million) a year earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand. The annual trade balance was a surplus of NZD805 million (US$689 million), or 1.6% of exports. Economists polled by Reuters predicted a monthly surplus of NZD937 million (US$801 million) and an annual surplus of NZD920 million (US$787 million).
Exports climbed 15% to NZD5.08 billion (US$4.3 billion), for an annual increase of 8.5% to NZD50.07 billion (US$43 billion). That was the first time New Zealand''s international sales topped NZD5 billion (US$4.3 billion) in a month and NZD50 billion (US$43 billion) in year.
Milk powder, butter and cheese exports advanced 45% to NZD1.53 billion (US$1.3 billion) in March for an annual increase of 31% to NZD14.92 billion (US$13 billion), while casein and caseinates gained 17% to NZD93 million (US$80 million) for an annual lift of 7.5% to NZD988 million (US$845 million). Dairyproducts accounted for about 30% of all exports.
"While March tends to be the peak month for exports, this was also a record high in seasonally adjusted terms," Westpac Banking Corp senior economist Michael Gordon said in a note. "Dairy products were down 9% by volume, but there were increases in exports of meat, oil and machinery."
Meat and edible offal sales rose 12% to NZD731 million (US$625 million) for a 4.1% annual gain to NZD5.5 billion (US$4.7 billion).
Imports rose 13% to NZD4.16 billion (US$3.6 billion) for an annual lift of 5.5% to NZD49.26 billion (US$42 billion).
Exports to China jumped 31% to NZD1.13 billion (US$967 million) in March for an annual gain of 51% to NZD11.19 billion (US$9.6 billion), or 22% of all exports. Imports from China were up 14% to NZD550 million (US$471 million) in the month for an annual gain of 7.9% to NZD8.37 billion (US$7.2 billion).
Exports to Australia fell 1.5% to NZD2.17 billion (US$1.9 billion) in March for an annual decline of 7.3% to NZD9 billion (US$7.7 billion), while US exports were up a monthly 4.5% to NZD476 million (US$407 million), slowing the yearly decline to 6.2% to NZD4.07 billion (US$3.5 billion).