We've had a wonderful holiday. We're back in New Zealand now, and there will be a few bills to pay after SWMBO's attempts to revitalise the South Australian retail sector!
But we're delighted to see that the tide of good news shows no signs of turning. No; we're not referring to nice Mr Cunliffe's latest gaffe, although those are becoming a bit of a habit. We're referring to the latest piece of good news from Statistics NZ; this time it's export earnings:
The seasonally adjusted value of exported goods rose 2.1 percent to $13.6 billion in the March 2014 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. This follows rises in the previous two quarters.
“Meat and fruit led the increase in seasonally adjusted exports,” international statistics manager Jason Attewell said. “This is the second consecutive quarter that both values and quantities for these two commodities have risen.”
Seasonally adjusted meat values rose 8.7 percent in the March quarter, and quantities rose 6.8 percent. Fruit values rose 27 percent, and quantities rose 20 percent.
The rise in meat and fruit was offset slightly by a fall in milk powder, butter, and cheese, down 2.4 percent. The fall in dairy follows 26 percent increases in both the September and December 2013 quarters. Despite the small fall this quarter, dairy remains at high levels and is the leading contributor (31 percent) to total exports.
Imports rose 1.5 percent to $12.5 billion in the March 2014 quarter. The increase was led by a rise in capital goods.
The seasonally adjusted trade balance for the March 2014 quarter was a surplus of $1.1 billion. This follows a surplus of $986 million in the December 2013 quarter.
A trade surplus in excess of $1 billion is fantastic news for New Zealand. In trade terms, we are paying our way in the world.
But wait; there's more. A couple of significant records have been set; read on:
Monthly exports pass $5 billion for the first time
Exports rose $671 million in the March month, to $5.1 billion. Milk powder, butter, and cheese led the rise in exports, up $474 million (45 percent) compared with March 2013.
“This is the first time monthly exports have exceeded $5 billion, and annual exports have exceeded $50 billion,” Mr Attewell said. “Record dairy exports pushed the values past these thresholds.”
This is really good news for New Zealand exporters, especially when the opposition parties continue to push the line that the export sector is in crisis. Patently, it isn't.
The continuing flow of excellent economic indicators suggests that the economy is in pretty good shape, with just over 19 weeks to go until the General Election. Why would any voter with any common sense put New Zealand's economic recovery at risk just for the sake of "one big new tool", or whatever Labour and the Greens are rolling out this week.
