Consyl Publishing & Publicity Ltd

Consyl Publishing & Publicity Ltd

Home > Our Publications > New Zealand Outlook > 2006 > November

Imports and exports continue to rise

By Lawrence Johnston

IMPORTS and exports of merchandise goods continued to rise in August, Statistics New Zealand said last month. Imports have been rising since last December and exports since July 2005.
A drop in the New Zealand dollar contributed to both trends.
According to the Reserve Bank's Trade Weighted Index, the New Zealand dollar was 9.6 per cent lower in August 2006 than a year earlier. This change is likely to have influenced values for all import and export commodities.
The increases in August 2006 for both imports and exports - 6.4 per cent and 15.4 per cent, respectively - were broadly based. Thirty-two of the top 40 import commodity groups and 34 of the export groups showed an increase when compared with the previous August.
In August 2006 the largest contributors to the increase in imports were petroleum and products. Despite the irregular nature of petroleum shipments, this was the seventh month in the last eight when petroleum and products had the highest value for any import commodity.
The greater increase in exports than imports produced a smaller trade deficit than in August 2005. But the August 2006 deficit of NZ$ 961 million (35.3 per cent of exports) is the second largest on record in August, and compares with an average deficit of NZ$ 484 million (20.9 per cent of exports) over the past decade.
The annual trade balance was a 19.6 per cent deficit. As a proportion of exports, this is the lowest annual deficit since September 2005.
Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted total retail sales remained unchanged in August 2006 compared with the previous month. Excluding the vehicle-related industries, sales for the core retailing group fell 0.6 per cent.
The total retail sales trend has eased in the past year, with the rate of increase falling to a monthly average of 0.3 per cent. This compares with an average increase of 0.6 per cent in the previous two years.
The largest dollar-value increases were recorded in the motor vehicle retailing industry, up 3.7 per cent, and the hospitality-related industries, with a combined increase of 2.5 per cent.
Downwards contributions of sales were more widespread, with the largest dollar-value decreases recorded in recreational goods retailing, down 7.5 per cent, and department stores, down 3.9 per cent.