Tasman trade goes deeper in red

By GREG ANSLEY

New Zealand's trade deficit with Australia ballooned by 25 per cent last year, nudging a new high water mark of A$3 billion ($3.5 billion).

In the June quarter this year New Zealand's transtasman trade balance slipped a further A$54 million into the red, following a trend that also saw Australia's performance improve with major trading partners the United States, China and Britain.

The deterioration in New Zealand's trade balance with Australia is detailed in the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures on international merchandise trade for the June quarter, which also includes figures for the preceding 12 months.

During the June year, Australia's transtasman trade surplus increased by A$579 million to A$2897 million, pushed by an 11 per cent (A$755 million) increase in exports to New Zealand.

New Zealand's sales to Australia rose by a far smaller A$175 million to A$4740 milion.

The bureau's figures, which confirmed New Zealand as Australia's fifth-largest export market and sixth-largest source of imports, showed Australia's improvement in trade with traditional trading partners came at the expense of business with major Asian markets.

In addition to the larger transtasman surplus, Australia pruned its deficits with the US, by 11 per cent, and Britain, by 39 per cent, and increased its surplus with South Korea by 14 per cent.

But the gaps between exports and imports were narrowed sharply in Asia.

Surpluses were reduced by 54 per cent with Singapore, 33 per cent with Taiwan and 10 per cent with Japan, and Australia's trade deficit with China rose by 15 per cent to A$3496 million.

In the June quarter, Australia's trade surplus with New Zealand increased by 8 per cent, to A$755 million.