Trade surplus in sight

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Monday 27th August 2001

New Zealand is heading for its first annual trade surplus since 1995.

Latest figures show that the trade deficit for the month of July was $46 million but that for the year ended July the country recorded a surplus of $65 million.

Statistics New Zealand says the value of imports for July stood at $2.796 billion, putting total imports for the year ended July at $32.291 billion - up 9.6 % from the previous year.

Intermediate goods, which are goods such as crude oil that are imported for further processing, rose 19.3% in value and consumption goods rose 11.7%.

Excluding items individually valued at $100 million or more, such as large aircraft and ships, imports grew 12.7% during the year.

The commodities showing the largest movements in import value for the year ended July 2001 were petroleum and related products and electrical machinery. On a percentage basis, sugars and sugar confectionery and fertilisers showed the most growth.

The early estimate for exports for July is $2.75 billion, which pegs the July trade deficit at $46 million compared with a deficit of $126 million for the month last year.

"This would give an annual trade surplus of $65 million, which would be the first annual surplus since the year ended April 1995," says Statistics New Zealand.

Detailed data and an updated total value for July exports will be released next month.

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