In August, New Zealand observed a dip in both its goods exports and imports compared to the previous year, leading to a monthly trade deficit of NZD -2.3B.
Compared to figures from August 2022, goods exports saw a reduction of NZD -296m, marking a -5.6% yoy drop, settling at NZD 5.0B. On the other hand, goods imports displayed an even steeper decline, shrinking by NZD -639m or -8.1% yoy, amounting to NZD 7.3B.
A deeper dive into the export figures revealed China as the major contributor to the monthly dip. Exports to China fell sharply by NZD -262m, representing an -18% yoy decline. Other notable declines were witnessed in exports to Australia, which dipped by NZD -71m (-9.0% yoy), and Japan, with a decrease of NZD -34m (-11% yoy). However, there was some silver lining with US and EU. Exports to the USA grew by NZD 62m, marking a 9.6% yoy increase, and those to the EU surged by NZD 28m, a 7.7% yoy rise.
China also took the lead in the contraction in imports. Imports from China plummeted by NZD -363m, a stark -19% yoy decline. Other significant reductions in imports were observed from Australia, down by NZD -92m (-9.7% yoy), South Korea with a drop of NZD -74m (-13% yoy), and US decreasing by NZD -36m (-5.4% yoy). In contrast, imports from EU displayed a robust growth, climbing by NZD 120m or 12% yoy.
