Kiwifruit exports surged 82% in April to $438 million, a new high for any month, Statistics New Zealand said.
The rise in kiwifruit exports was the leading contributor to a 7.3% lift in overall goods exports for April to $5.1 billion, the second-highest for any month after December 2017’s record $5.5b, the statistics agency said.
The fruit is NZ’s fastest-growing horticultural export and the Ministry for Primary Industries is forecasting more growth in the next two years with exports slated to reach $1.8b in 2019.
Zespri, the kiwifruit marketing body, is aiming for $4.5b of global sales by 2025, with faster growth picked to come from its more profitable Gold kiwifruit.
“Kiwifruit exports were up for all NZ’s principal kiwifruit markets – China, the European Union and Japan,” Stats NZ international statistics manager Tehseen Islam said.
“In April, the first month of the export season, the Gold variety made up nearly three-quarters of the total value of kiwifruit exports.”
Across all markets, Gold kiwifruit was up $148m or 86% in value compared with April 2017, led by an $85m increase to China.
Green kiwifruit also rose, up $50m or 83%, led by a $25m increase to the EU.
Annual exports of kiwifruit lifted 9% to $1.9b in the year ended April 2018.
The other main contributors to April’s export rise were meat and edible offal, which lifted 15% or $94m to $723m and milk powder, butter and cheese exports, which advanced 6.2% or $68m to $1.17b.
Meat exports were affected by higher prices for lamb and higher quantities of beef while dairy exports were buoyed by higher prices for butter, StatsNZ said.
Imports also lifted in April, up 15% or $629m, to reach a new high for the month of $4.8b. The leading contributor to the rise was the increased value of petroleum and its products, up 56% or $221m, led by crude oil imports which increased by $130m.
The other main contributors to the higher imports were vehicles, parts and accessories, which lifted by $179m, and mechanical machinery and equipment, up $108m.
The monthly trade balance in April was a surplus of $263m or 5.2% of exports, which is lower than the average monthly surplus in the last five April months of $344m.
The statistics agency revised the deficit for March, the first deficit for the month in a decade, to $156m from $86m.
The annual trade deficit for the year ended April was $3.76b compared with a $3.51b shortfall in the year to April 2017.
“Looking at the year ahead we expect the annual trade deficit to narrow,” ASB Bank senior rural economist Nathan Penny said.
“In particular, we expect agricultural production to increase over the year and to boost export volumes while export prices remain firm.
“At the same time, growth in import values is likely to be more subdued as economic growth remains soft over 2018.” – BusinessDesk
