Pandemic drives changes to NZ exports, imports

AUCKLAND: The global pandemic is boosting New Zealand’s trade balance and driving changes in the makeup of our exports and imports, latest StatsNZ data shows.

New Zealanders imported more laptops in the year as we tooled up to work from home.

Latest figures also show we imported more than $200 million of face masks, and exports of respiratory equipment surged by $348 million to $861 million worth.

New Zealand’s annual trade surplus grew to $1.7 billion in the year to September, as the pandemic hit imports but export growth stayed solid.

It was the largest trade surplus the country has seen since the height of the dairy boom in 2014.

‘‘For most of the past 20 years, New Zealand had a goods trade shortfall, importing much more than it exports,’’ said StatsNZ senior insights analyst Nicholas Cox said.

‘‘The goods trade surplus in September 2020 is unusually high because of the rapid drop in imports since February.’’

Imports fell $5.9 billion in the September 2020 year.

The fall was led by crude oil (down $1.7 billion) and cars (down $1.1 billion).

These falls were partly offset by rises in face masks (up $216 million), and laptops (up $133 million).

‘‘Imports of laptops rose, as more people worked from home during the lockdowns earlier in the year,’’ Mr Cox said.

There was also a oneoff rise in the ‘‘warships’’ category (up $395 million, largely driven by the arrival of Navy ship HMNZS Aotearoa in June 2020).

Meanwhile the total value of goods exports for the September 2020 year still exceeded the year to September 2019 up $1.2 billion.

The rise in annual exports was led by milk powder, butter, and cheese (up $1.4 billion), beef (up $433 million), and gold kiwifruit (up $377 million).

‘‘New Zealand also exported more breathing equipment, which is in high demand worldwide because of Covid19,’’ Mr Cox said.

Exports of respiration apparatus rose $348 million in the September 2020 year. The industry in dominated in New Zealand by NZX listed F&P Healthcare.

‘‘Import activity continues to be proportionately more impacted by the pandemic, and the global economic slowdown,’’ said ASB economist Nathaniel Keall.

He emphasised the ‘‘caveat’’ that an improving trade balance is not always the sign of a healthy economic outlook.

‘‘The trade balance fell during the last global financial crisis as soggy domestic demand weighed on imports but key export sectors like agriculture proved relatively more resilient,’’ he said.

‘‘We continue to see broadly similar themes this year.’’

On a monthly basis September saw a slight fall in dairy export returns from a year earlier.

Milk powder, butter, and cheese exports fell $97 million this month.

The monthly trade balance in September 2020 was a deficit of $1 billion lower than the average deficit in the previous five September months at $1.3 billion. — The New Zealand Herald