March 7, 2005

Boost in New Zealand's export of dairy and meat

New Zealand statistics stated that the value of exports for January 2005 is $2,258 million, which is up $225 million or 11.1 per cent compared with January 2004. Despite rising value of the New Zealand dollar, the value of exports remains strong which is mainly due to dairy and meat, New Zealand's major agricultural exports. The values of exported dairy products and meat for this month are both record highs for a January month. The trend for the value of exports has been rising since the middle of 2003.

The value of exported dairy products for January 2005 is $522 million, which is $91 million (21.0 per cent) higher than for January 2004. The trend for dairy products has been rising for the last six months. The United States of America, Denmark, the Philippines, Mexico and Japan were the main export destinations that recorded higher values of exports for dairy products. Partly offsetting these higher values was a lower value of exports to the People's Republic of China. Whole milk powder was the main contributor, with both higher volume (up 5.6 per cent) and higher average price (up 14.9 per cent) compared with January 2004.

The value of exported meat for this month is $433 million, up $49 million (12.9 per cent) compared with January 2004. The trend for the value of exported meat has been consistently higher over the last year compared with previous years. Germany was the main export destination contributing to the higher value this month. The main contributor to the higher value of exported meat was lamb, with both volume and average price being higher than for January 2004.

The provisional value of merchandise imports for January 2005 is $2,573 million, resulting in an updated trade deficit of $315 million, or 13.9 per cent of exports.