Machinery and plant imports were up 13% year-on-year in February according to figures released this week by Statistics NZ.
Overall imports for the month were up 3.7% – $139 million.
The figures also show negative news for the export sectors, with exports down 13% to $3.9 billion.
Milk powder, butter, and cheese exports led the fall, down 41% ($647 million) from February 2014, due to lower prices and a 10% fall in quantities exported. Over three-quarters of the drop in value was due to falling exports to China.
“Annual dairy export values are still coming down from the highest annual level, which was in mid-2014, but quantities exported have remained fairly stable,” international statistics manager Jason Attewell says. “Annual values are now 16% lower than for the year ended August 2014 and are at similar levels to late 2013.”
