Overseas Merchandise Trade: January 2016
Embargoed until 10:45am – 26 February 2016

Key facts
For January 2016 compared with January 2015:
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Goods exports rose $217 million (5.9 percent) to $3.9 billion.
Goods imports rose $261 million (7.2 percent) to $3.9 billion.
The trade surplus was $8.1 million (0.2 percent of exports).
Logs, wood, and wood articles exports rose $44 million (22 percent).
Exports to China were up $147 million (25 percent).
Exports to the USA fell $47 million (9.5 percent), due to beef, down $58 million.
Intermediate goods imports rose $140 million (8.9 percent).
Imports from China were up $154 million (21 percent).

Liz MacPherson, Government Statistician
ISSN 1178-0320
26 February 2016

 Commentary
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Exports rise 5.9 percent
Imports rise 7.2 percent
Goods trade surplus in January 2016
Seasonally adjusted exports rise 9.5 percent
Seasonally adjusted imports rise 6.0 percent
Exchange rate movements

This commentary refers to trade in goods only.
See Goods and Services Trade by Country: Year ended September 2015 for information on
trade in goods and services.
All comparisons are between January 2016 and January 2015, unless otherwise stated.

Exports rise 5.9 percent
In January 2016, goods exports were valued at $3.9 billion, up $217 million (5.9 percent) from
January 2015.

Logs, wood, and wood articles lead rise in exports
Logs, wood, and wood articles had the largest increase in January 2016 compared with
January 2015, up $44 million (22 percent) to $244 million. Rough wood (wood in its natural felled

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 state) led the rise, up $22 million (17 percent), with quantity exported up 10 percent. Sawn wood
rose 9.7 million (29 percent), with quantity up 31 percent. Fibreboard rose $6.4 million (45
percent), with quantity up 23 percent.
Milk powder, butter, and cheese (the largest export commodity group) rose $43 million (3.7
percent) to $1.2 billion in January 2016. The rise was led by milk fats including butter, up $30
million (13 percent), and cheese and curd, up $28 million (19 percent). It was partly offset by a
fall in natural milk constituents, down $22 million (28 percent).
Fruit rose $20 million (32 percent) to $81 million in January 2016 compared with January 2015.
It was led by a rise in cherries, up $19 million (51 percent) to a new record high of $55 million.
The quantity of exported cherries also rose to a new record high, of 2,668 tonnes (up 30
percent).
Other key changes in commodity export values for January 2016 were:
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preparations of cereals, flour, and starch rose $40 million (86 percent)
miscellaneous edible preparations rose $34 million (50 percent)
meat and edible offal fell $8.6 million (1.5 percent)

Milk powder, butter, and cheese to China continues to lead rise in exports by
country
The monthly movements for January 2016 for our top export destinations (ranked by total annual
exports) were:
1. China – up $147 million (25 percent), led by a rise in milk powder, butter, and cheese, up
$77 million (38 percent). Milk powder rose $43 million (28 percent), with quantity exported
up 18 percent. Wool rose $16 million (91 percent), with quantity up 83 percent. Cherry
exports to China rose $7.9 million (97 percent).
2. Australia – up $55 million (11 percent), led by a rise in food preparations for infant use,
up $26 million, and paper and paperboard, up $14 million (92 percent). Milk powder,
butter, and cheese rose $12 million (34 percent), including cheese and curd, up $6.3
million (30 percent).
3. United States – down $47 million (9.5 percent), led by a fall in beef, down $58 million (33
percent), with quantity exported down 23 percent. Casein and caseinates fell $20 million
(39 percent) and milk powder, butter, and cheese fell $19 million (25 percent).
4. European Union (EU) – up $16 million (4.2 percent), led by lamb, up $22 million (15
percent). Wine fell $16 million (39 percent) to $26 million, with quantity down 49 percent.
5. Japan – showed little change, up $673 thousand (0.3 percent). Logs, wood, and wood
articles rose $7.3 million (42 percent), while aluminium and aluminium articles fell $8.8
million (19 percent).

Imports rise 7.2 percent
In January 2016, goods imports were valued at $3.9 billion, up $261 million (7.2 percent) from
January 2015.

Intermediate goods lead rise in imports
Of the main broad economic categories, intermediate goods and consumption goods rose in
value in January 2016 compared with January 2015. Capital goods fell in value.

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 Intermediate goods rose $140 million (8.9 percent) over a range of commodities, led by a rise in
fertilisers (up $65 million), parts and accessories of capital goods (up $46 million), and
automotive diesel (up $22 million). The rise was offset by a fall in crude oil, down $96 million (38
percent). The quantity of imported crude oil fell 7.9 percent, indicating the fall in value is price
driven. This is in line with the world price of crude oil, which has fallen substantially over the past
year. Intermediate goods excluding crude oil rose $236 million (18 percent).
Consumption goods rose $111 million (12 percent), led by a rise in semi-durable goods (such
as clothing and footwear), up $35 million (14 percent). Non-durable goods (such as perfumes
and books) rose $22 million (10 percent), and durable goods (such as furniture) rose $12 million
(8.2 percent). Monthly consumption goods values have been larger than the same month of the
previous year since September 2014.
Capital goods fell $34 million (4.4 percent), due to a fall in transport equipment (aircraft and
other vehicles), down $59 million. Capital goods excluding transport equipment rose $25 million
(4.6 percent) to $570 million, led by optical, medical, and measuring equipment (up $8.2 million).
In other categories of goods:
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passenger motor cars rose $21 million (7.2 percent) to $311 million.
petrol and avgas rose $12 million (16 percent) to $88 million.

Increase in goods imported from three of our top five trading partners
The monthly movements for January 2016 for our top import partners (ranked by total annual
goods imports) were:

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 1. China – up $154 million (21 percent), led by fertilisers, up $28 million, and regular grade
petroleum, up $25 million. Telephone sets (including cell phones) rose $15 million (32
percent).
2. European Union (EU) – down $18 million (2.5 percent), due to trains, down $27 million,
and motorcars, down $10 million. The fall was partly offset by a rise in turbo-jets, up $16
million.
3. Australia – up $69 million (19 percent), led by crude oil, up $34 million.
4. United States – down $19 million (5.1 percent), due to aircraft and parts, down $33
million (60 percent). The fall was partly offset by rises in petroleum and products, up $4.8
million, and mechanical machinery and equipment, up $3.9 million.
5. Japan – up $35 million (18 percent), led by motorcars, up $22 million (25 percent).
The monthly quantities and values of imported petroleum tend to fluctuate depending on the
timing of large shipments. In January 2016, petroleum influenced large movements in imports
from these countries: Australia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia had increases, while Brunei
Darussalam, Russia, Kuwait, Malaysia, and Qatar had decreases.

Goods trade surplus in January 2016
In January 2016, there was a goods trade surplus of $8.1 million (0.2 percent of exports). This
compares with an average deficit of 0.6 percent of exports for the previous five January months.
For the year ended January 2016, there was an annual trade deficit of $3.6 billion.

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 Seasonally adjusted exports rise 9.5 percent
The seasonally adjusted value for exported goods in January 2016 rose 9.5 percent ($382
million) from December 2015. This follows a 2.5 percent decrease in December 2015 compared
with November 2015.
The trend for goods exports has been slowly increasing over the past 12 months.

Seasonally adjusted exports to China fall
The seasonally adjusted movements in January 2016, compared with December 2015, for our
main export destinations were:
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China – down 5.0 percent ($38 million) to $717 million. The trend for goods exports to
China is 35 percent lower than the series peak in December 2013.
Australia – up 4.2 percent ($30 million) to $748 million. The trend for goods exports to
Australia is 22 percent lower than the series peak in July 2011.
EU – up 5.4 percent ($24 million) to $467 million. The trend for goods exports to the EU is
7.0 percent lower than the series peak in December 2008.

Changes in seasonally adjusted export values
Fruit exports rose 49 percent ($76 million) to $231 million, a new series peak, following a 23
percent fall in December 2015. The seasonally adjusted quantity rose 12 percent.
Milk powder, butter, and cheese exports rose 2.7 percent ($26 million), following a 0.2 percent
rise in December 2015. The seasonally adjusted quantity fell 0.1 percent.

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 Meat and edible offal exports fell 2.0 percent ($11 million) to $553 million, following a 12
percent fall in December 2015. The seasonally adjusted quantity fell 5.4 percent.
Fish, crustaceans, and molluscs fell 13 percent ($19 million) to $126 million, following a 15
percent rise in December 2015. The seasonally adjusted quantity fell 26 percent.

Trend for wine hits new series peak
The trend for wine exports reached a new series peak in January 2016, up 1.5 percent from the
previous series peak in December 2015. The commodity has been consistently rising since
August 2014.
Logs, wood, and wood articles exports have risen for the last seven months. The trend is 12
percent lower in January 2016 than the series peak in October 2013.
Recent trends for values of other leading commodities:
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meat and edible offal has fallen for the past four months, and is 2.8 percent lower in
January 2016 compared with December 2015.
milk powder, butter, and cheese has been generally falling since August 2015.

Seasonally adjusted imports rise 6.0 percent
Seasonally adjusted goods imports in January 2016 increased 6.0 percent ($255 million) from
December 2015. This increase follows an 8.5 percent fall in December 2015. Excluding
petroleum and products, seasonally adjusted imports increased 4.0 percent in January 2016
from December 2015.

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 Exchange rate movements
The Reserve Bank’s trade weighted index (TWI) showed the New Zealand dollar was 1.8 percent
lower in January 2016 than December 2015, and 8.0 percent lower than in January 2015.

For more detailed data, see the Excel tables in the ‘Downloads’ box.
See DataInfo+ for information on definitions, data quality, and revisions. These sections were
previously included in this release.

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 Related links
Next release
Overseas Merchandise Trade: February 2016 will be released on 24 March 2016.
Subscribe to information releases, including this one, by completing the online subscription form.
The release calendar lists all information releases by date of release.

Past releases
Overseas Merchandise Trade has links to past releases.
Goods and Services Trade by Country has annual goods and services trade in a single release.

Related information
Overseas Merchandise Trade: January 2016 – data collection methodology details the
methodology used for this release and revisions to provisional values published in our previous
release.
Overseas Merchandise Trade – data collection methodology details the general methodology
used to produce overseas merchandise trade statistics.
Overseas Merchandise Trade – concepts provides the definitions of terms used in this release.
Global New Zealand contains comprehensive annual trade statistics.
Overseas Trade Indexes measure the change in the level of prices and volumes of New
Zealand’s imports and exports.
Balance of Payments and International Investment Position measures the value of New
Zealand's transactions with the rest of the world, and provides a snapshot of the country's
international financial assets and liabilities.
Gross Domestic Product represents the country's income earned from production in New
Zealand.
Economic Survey of Manufacturing provides an economic indicator of how the manufacturing
sector is performing.

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Email: info@stats.govt.nz
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Email: info@stats.govt.nz
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 Tables
See Overseas Merchandise Trade: January 2016 – tables (Excel, 18 sheets, 438kB) for the
following tables, which are also available from the ‘Downloads’ box on this page. If you have
problems viewing the files, see opening files and PDFs.
1.01
1.02
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Overseas merchandise trade, actual values
Overseas merchandise trade, trade balance – actual values
Overseas merchandise trade, seasonally adjusted and trend values – monthly
Exports by destination
Imports by country of origin
Exports of main commodities
Imports of main commodities
Imports by broad economic category (BEC) group
Exchange rates
Related series, livestock, cars, and crude oil
Exports and imports by Standard International Trade Classification (SITC)
Exports by top 10 HS categories, values – seasonally adjusted
Exports by top 10 HS categories, quantities – seasonally adjusted
Imports by selected HS categories, values – seasonally adjusted
Exports by top 10 HS categories, values – trend
Exports by top 10 HS categories, quantities – trend
Imports by selected HS categories, values – trend

Access more data on Infoshare
Infoshare allows you to organise data in the way that best meets your needs. You can view the
resulting tables onscreen or download them.
Use Infoshare
For this release, select the following categories from the Infoshare homepage:
Subject category: Imports and Exports

Next release
Overseas Merchandise Trade: February 2016 will be released on 24 March 2016.

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