New Stats NZ figures show overall imports rose to a new high in February 2018, despite a fall in the value of car imports.
The overall rise was driven by an increase in machinery imports like harvesting equipment.
Imports of passenger motor cars fell $126 million (33%) from February 2017 to $257 million – the lowest monthly value since March 2013.
“The delay in final unloading of four vehicle carriers at New Zealand ports had an impact on the total value of vehicle imports in February,” international statistics manager Tehseen Islam says.
“The discovery of stink bugs on these vessels meant that around 8000 cars could not enter New Zealand as scheduled.
“The goods on these vehicle carriers would normally have been included in February’s import statistics, but will now be included in the statistics of the month when the respective shipments are unloaded.”
Total imports were up $187 million (4.6%) from February 2017 to reach $4.2 billion.
