WELLINGTON: New Zealand posted a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in April as increased volumes of gold kiwifruit and apples drove up shipments of fruit, the country’s fourth-biggest export product. The trade surplus of $292 million in April was more than the $60 million expected in a Reuters poll of economists and wider than the $184 million reported a year earlier, Statistics New Zealand said. Exports rose 4 percent to $4.3 billion and imports were up 1.5 percent at $4.01 billion.
Sales of fruit rose 16 percent to $418 million in April from the same month a year earlier, led by a 53 percent jump in sales of gold kiwifruit as volumes climbed 29 percent, while apple exports rose 29 percent in value terms and 13 percent in volume. Annual fruit exports climbed 33 percent to $2.42 billion, the fastest pace among the country’s 12 export commodities that achieve sales of at least $1 billion. Kiwifruit marketing firm Zespri International today reported record sales volumes for green and sungold kiwifruit varieties which helped deliver a 21 percent increase in revenue to $1.9 billion.
Milk powder, butter and cheese exports fell 6.7 percent to $818 million for a 12 percent annual drop to $11.22 billion, while casein and caseinates exports slumped by a third to $69 million in April for a 9.5 percent annual decline to $1.03 billion. Dairy products account for about a quarter of New Zealand’s $49 billion of annual exports and are seen as a key indicator for New Zealand’s economy.
Fonterra Cooperative Group’s board is expected to deliver its opening forecast for the 2017 farmgate milk price when it wraps up today’s meeting and economists predict the price will be at least $4.43 per kilogram of milk solids, more than this season’s $3.90/kgMS forecast. Today’s data show the annual trade deficit was $3.66 billion, less than the $3.94 billion expected by economists, but a bigger shortfall than the $2.66 billion deficit in the same period a year earlier.
