In the year to March 2015, New Zealanders spent more on vehicles, parts and accessories from the European Union than from Japan for the first time ever, according to Statistics New Zealand.
The European Union was also our largest provider of imported mechanical machinery and equipment.
New Zealand’s largest import expenses during the March 2015 year were vehicles, parts and accessories from the EU and Japan, and mechanical machinery and equipment from the EU.
International statistics manager Jason Attwell says that for the first time ever New Zealanders spent more on vehicles, parts, and accessories from the EU ($1889 million) versus Japan ($1859 million).
New Zealand importers spent $726 million sourcing vehicles, parts, and accessories from Thailand and $631 million from the USA.
The figure spent on mechanical machinery imports from the EU was $1,622 million, in comparison to China being $1,546 million and the USA being $1120 million.
Collectively, the European Union (EU) was our largest source of imports, as New Zealand bought $8.6 billion of goods and $2.9 billion of services from there. Imports from Germany, the United Kingdom, and France made up over half our imports from the EU, says Attewell.
The EU countries include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
According to Statistics New Zealand, our country’s largest export earners during the March 2015 year were dairy exports to China, and spending by visitors from Australia and the EU while travelling in New Zealand.
