Primary sector drives record trade surplus for New Zealand

WELLINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand recorded a merchandise trade surplus of 1.4 billion NZ dollars (about 831.5 million U.S. dollars) in April 2025, a dramatic turnaround from the 12 million NZ dollars deficit in April 2024, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.

This marks the fourth time New Zealand has posted a monthly goods surplus above 1 billion NZ dollars. Two of those have occurred in April months, which were driven by seasonal peaks in dairy and fruit exports, said Stats NZ international accounts spokesperson Viki Ward.

Goods exports reached 7.8 billion NZ dollars, while imports totaled 6.4 billion NZ dollars. The primary sector was the main driver, with strong year-on-year gains in key export categories such as dairy products, fruit, meat and edible offal, as well as logs and wood products, statistics show.

Together, these categories made up 63 percent of total goods exports in April, up from 58 percent in the same month last year, Stats NZ said, adding milk powder alone accounted for 1 billion NZ dollars, a 32 percent jump from April 2024.

In the 12 months to April 2025, the value of fruit exports rose by 36 percent, with kiwifruit, apples, and cherries leading the growth. (1 NZ dollar equals 0.59 U.S. dollar) Enditem