Data from Statistics New Zealand shows the Bay's GDP had the third highest increase in the year ending March 2021. Photo / NZME
Data from Statistics New Zealand shows the Bay's GDP had the third highest increase in the year ending March 2021. Photo / NZME
The Bay of Plenty is flying in the face of the pandemic, recording "impressive" economic growth.
The region recorded the third-highest regional gross domestic product increase in the country in the year to March 2021, new data from Statistics New Zealand reveals.
Its GDP, which refers to the total valueof the goods and services it produced, rose 2.8 per cent in that time, only behind Marlborough and Tasman/Nelson with 3.8 and 3.1 per cent respectively.
GDP per capita was $58,056, up from $57,760, and just behind the national average of $63,955.
Economist Brad Olsen said while the Bay of Plenty's growth was slower than previous years it was "impressive".
"The region's had strong horticultural and dairy exports and we know that Whakatāne in particular experienced a lot of domestic tourism in March 2021."
Ōhope resident and business owner Ria Brosnahan. Photo / Supplied
And the growth is being felt on the ground. Ōhope resident Ria Brosnahan said her businesses were experiencing an "unusual growth situation".
"We can honestly say up to December we have had more positive growth than the year before."
Brosnahan is a grandmother and co-owner of JB and HA Brosnahan Ltd. Brosnahan's businesses centre around wood and farming.
"Farming has been pretty static," Brosnahan said.
"But our wood chip business saw a substantial increase in turnover for year ending June 2021."
Brosnahan, who raised 10 children with her late husband John, thought many products were "definitely more expensive" these days.
A new Canstar report has revealed New Zealanders' biggest financial worries, poor savings habits and the rising number of those who have given up on owning their own home.
"Some prices have gone up by a third. You can rarely buy broccoli for under $3," Brosnahan said.
"I'm not feeding a large family [anymore]. I've always grown my own vegetables and as farmers we have our own meat.
"[Without that] I would find it very hard. It makes you wonder how families can afford things like meat."
Brosnahan said households needed to be "a lot smarter to survive" in 2022.
Economist Brad Olsen. Photo / Tania Whyte
Olsen said while Statistics New Zealand's numbers did not account for inflation or the effect of price on demand, the data "gelled" with what businesses were seeing.
"GDP is basically a measure of how much economic stuff is happening," Olsen said.
"An increase in GDP means the economy is doing more. More haircuts are being given out, more butter is being made, more building's been done, more wood has been cut."
In theory, Olsen said, households could feel the economic growth in job availability and wages.
Over the past five years the country's economy has had an average growth rate of 6 per cent.
Statistics New Zealand's report also includes a record of each industry's contribution to the regional GDP for the year ending March 2020.
The Bay's highest contributors included owner-occupied property, rental hiring and real estate, manufacturing, construction, forestry, fishing and agriculture.
Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt. Photo / Supplied
Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt said it was "no surprise" the region had grown and outperformed many others.
"Key contributors are construction, growth in professional services and our exporting sector, particularly horticulture," Tutt said.
"We have quite a diversified economy in the Bay and we were fortunate to miss the lockdowns that Auckland and Waikato had."
Having said that, Tutt described GDP as a "fairly blunt measure" of the "size of the pie".
"We are more encouraged by growth in incomes, growth in the number of business units, and the strength of our core industries.
"Looking forward, the first half of this year will be tough with Omicron and talent shortages but most of our core industries have strong growth prospects."
