Cars buck fall in imports

The value of vehicles, parts and accessories crossing our borders increased in the March 2021 quarter when compared to the same period a year ago, bucking the overall trend that saw the total for goods and services imports drop.

Latest figures from Stats NZ show vehicles topped the import charts with a value of $2.1b in the first three months of this year, up from $1.7b in the March 2020 quarter. 

It was also an increase from $1.9b in the December 2020 quarter and accounted for 11.5 per cent of all the country’s imports. 

Overall, the value of goods and services imports slipped from $19.8b in the March 2020 quarter to $18.5b in the same period this year. Exports dropped from $23.3b to $17.6b.

Imports for the whole year to the end of March 2021 came to $70.3b, for a fall of $14.6b from the year prior.

Exports of goods and services tumbled $14.3b to $72.6b over the same period to create a trade surplus with all countries of $2.3b.

New Zealand’s top five trading partners during the first three months of the year were China, Australia, the EU, the US, and Japan.