Revised trade deficit $194m for March

Statistics New Zealand today said New Zealand's trade deficit for March was a revised $194 million, taking the March year deficit to $4.37 billion.

Statistics NZ had earlier said the March deficit was $192m.

The revised deficit for that month was $49m better than in the same month a year ago. The deficit was only the second for a March month in the past ten years.

It came from a revised $2.79b (previously $2.80b) of exports, against a revised $2.99b ($2.99b) of imports.

The trend in export values has been rising more slowly than the trend in rising imports, which has led to widening deficits, Statistics NZ said.

Key contributors to the higher exports for March were meat, and edible offal, and milk powder, butter and cheese.

"Offsetting these higher export values was a lower export value for fruit," Statistics NZ said in a statement.

"The main contributor to the lower export value for fruit was kiwifruit."

The March year deficit was more than that for the February year, which was $4.12b.

A trade surplus is usual for a March month as exports of New Zealand's agricultural products, which produce about one-third of the country's exports, get into full swing.

The March monthly deficit represented 7 per cent of exports. There has not been a monthly trade surplus since May 2004.

The annual deficit represented 14 per cent of exports.

Exports for the year ended March stood at $31.09b, up 8.7 per cent on the previous year, on the back of increased exports of fruit, meat, aircraft and mechanical machinery and equipment.

Annual imports of $35.46b were 9.6 per cent higher than the previous March year.

The worsening trade deficit, fuelled by a strong currency and strong consumer demand from a robust domestic economy, has been a key factor in the deterioration of New Zealand's current account balance, which in the year through the fourth quarter worsened to a near-five year high of 6.4 per cent of gross domestic product.

The trade weighted New Zealand dollar rose 1.7 per cent on February and was 6.7 per cent higher than a year earlier.

- NZPA