October 25, 2013

New Zealand's September dairy exports up 52%

In September of this year, New Zealand's dairy exports were particularly high at NZD900 million (US$750 million), an increase of 52% from the same month of 2012, led by an increase in exports to China.

This is according to Statistics New Zealand.

"We have probably seen the worst of the drought's impact and volumes should probably pick up further from here over the remainder of the year," said Westpac economist Anne Boniface.

"There may well also be some more catching up to do on export prices. Even given the increase in September, the exceptionally high dairy prices achieved in recent GlobalDairyTrade auctions do not appear to have been fully reflected in the trade data yet," she said.

ASB economist Jane Turner said a forecast pay out of NZD8.30/kilogramme (US$6.90) of milk solids, up from NZD5.80 (US$4.83) last season, combined with a robust increase in production would boost dairy farmers' incomes by over NZD4 billion (US$3.3 billion).

Exports of forest products were up 45% on September last year but meat exports slipped 4%.