0 Now, about that export crisis...

New Zealand's export crisis has deepened further. There must be a crisis in exporting; after all Labour, the Greens and Winston First keep telling us that there is a crisis, and they wouldn't tell fibs, would they?

Well yes; they would, and they have been; Scoop reports:

New Zealand's trade surplus narrowed more than expected in April as exports fell more than imports, driven by a drop in shipments of dairy products and meat.
The trade surplus was $534 million in April, from a revised $935 million in March, and $171 million a year earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand. The annual trade balance turned to surplus of $1.19 billion, or about 2.3 percent of exports, from a deficit of $687 million a year earlier. Economists polled by Reuters predicted a monthly surplus of $667 million and an annual surplus of $1.3 billion.
Exports fell 11 percent to $4.5 million in April, for an annual increase of 9.5 to $50.6 billion. Imports declined 4 percent to $3.96 million in the month, with an annual increase of 5.3 percent to $49.4 billion.
Milk powder, butter and cheese exports rose 36 percent to $1.22 billion in April from the same month last year, for an annual increase of 33 percent to $15.2 billion. Meat and edible offal rose 5.2 percent in the month to $585 million for an annual gain of 3.5 percent to $5.5 billion.
The trend for the dairy exports showed a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent fall this month and is now 5.4 percent lower than December's peak, while meat and edible offal exports fell 5.9 percent, Statistics NZ said. Both export groups reported lower volume in the month - milk powder, butter and cheese volumes fell 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted 216 tonnes and meat and edible offal fell 8 percent to 73 tonnes. 
"Exports have begun their normal seasonal decline," Michael Gordon, a Westpac Banking Corp senior economist, wrote in a note. "The fall this month was driven by quantities rather than prices, with dairy products down 5 percent and meat down 8 percent by volume. While dairy prices in the GlobalDairyTrade auction system have fallen sharply since March, these prices related to delivery at future dates, so the impact should start to show up in the trade figures in the next few months."

That we are exporting more than we are importing is good news, even if things are starting to slow as they traditionally do over winter. Doubtless the opposition parties will seize of the seasonal decline as incontrovertible evidence that exporting is indeed in crisis.

And for those who think that trading with China is bad, check this out:

Exports to China, the biggest market for New Zealand, jumped 38 percent to $895 million in April for an annual gain of 52 percent to $11.43 billion, or 23 percent of all exports. Imports from China lifted 7.4 percent to $631 million in the month, to an annual increase of 8.5 percent to $8.4 billion.

China has become a very important market for New Zealand, and China's growing middle class seems to have an unquenchable appetite for our produce. Phil Goff should again be praised for his determination to push through the China FTA, which makes Labour's talking down of the export sector now even more mysterious.

0 This is doubly good news!

This is especially good news. In fact some would even describe it as "vintage"; the Herald reports:

New Zealand wine exports have rebounded to record levels as the wine growing industry continues its turnaround in fortunes.
Wine exports exceeded $1.3 billion annually for the first time in March, according to figures released by Statistics New Zealand - a 9.2 per cent increase from 12 months ago.
"We expect further strong growth in the year ahead when the 2014 vintage wines are released," New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said.
"The very robust export performance over the past 12 months reflects the continued demand in key markets and increased availability of the wine from the 2013 vintage," Gregan added.

That's fantastic news for an industry which is more at the mercy of Mother Nature than most. But the good news doesn't stop there; read on:

2013 saw a record harvest of 345,000 tonnes of grapes, up significantly from the low 2012 harvest, and the 2014 vintage is being tipped by some local growers to be the best ever.

Gisborne winemaker Steve Voysey of Spade Oak Vineyard says the region's warm spring temperatures ensured excellent flowering, while the cool nights and warm days towards the end of January enhanced véraison (ripening).
"You know it's a legendary vintage when every tank in the place is chocca. I'm just loving what I'm seeing being caressed into wine, the ferment bench is a delight to taste through," Voysey said.
Last month, Hawke's Bay winegrower Hugh Crichton of Vidal Estate, tipped this year's Chardonnay crop to be the region's best ever vintage.
Wine is New Zealand's eighth biggest export good ($1.32 billion), just behind fish ($1.34 billion in annual export earnings) and crude oil exports ($1.38 billion), according to the March Overseas Merchandise Trade figures.

We've just spent a week in Australia's main wine-producing area. It's fair to say that New Zealand wines have a very good reputation, even over there. Staff at one of the cellars we visited in the Barossa Valley conceded that they can't match the flavours of our sauvigon blancs, and pinot gris is almost unheard of. At dinner on our last night we enjoyed an excellent Central Otago pinot noir, recommended by the waiter from a lengthy, international wine list. And an Australian chap sitting next to us on the plane home told us he almost exclusively drinks New Zealand wine, as a matter of choice.

Here's hoping that the 2014 vintage is indeed as good as expected. We look forward to sampling some in the fullness of time, whilst appreciating the importance of the export dollars this industry earns.