New Zealand's Top Two Export Items Fell by Value in 2016

New Zealand's statistics department said top two of its export commodities, meat and dairy, fell by value in 2016. The total value of all export goods was NZD 48.4 billion for the year ended December 2016, down NZD544 million from the previous year, it is the second annual fall in a row for exports. The annual total is NZD1.6 billion less than the high of the 2014 year.

Trade deficit amounted to NZD3.2 billion (6.6% of exports) for the year ended December 2016, less than the NZD 3.5 billion deficit for 2015. The trade shortfall in 2015 was the largest year deficit since 2008, the statistics department said.

The biggest fall by value was for meat and edible offal, its second largest export group, with sales down NZD909 million to NZD5.9 billion. The fall in meat was driven by beef (down NZD481 million) and lamb (down NZD415 million).

The United States accounted for three-quarters of the fall in beef, while the European Union (EU) accounted for nearly half of the fall in lamb. The amount of meat fell 7.4 percent from 2015, with beef falling 14 percent and lamb falling 4.6 percent.

“The large fall in meat exports for 2016 reflects a decline from the record meat season in 2015 for both value and quantity,” international statistics senior manager Nicola Growden said. “The 2016 year’s meat exports have returned to levels similar to those seen in 2014.”

The value of imported goods was NZD51.6 billion in 2016, down NZD883 million (1.7 percent) from the high of the December 2015 year. The fall was led by cheaper oil and petrol, and partly offset by a rise in cars, trucks, and parts.

- APMR News