A sharp fall in imports of vehicles, machinery and petroleum combined with steady New Zealand exports led to a record $1.3 billion surplus in April, Stats NZ says.
International statistics manager Darren Allan says it’s the largest monthly trade surplus on record and the annual goods trade deficit is the lowest since March 2015.
Truck and vehicle imports dropped sharply for the month due to the supply chain impact of COVID-19 and with dealerships closed during the lockdown.
This resulted in a fall of $119 million (33%) in car imports and a $111 million (52%) drop in imports of trucks and vans. The fall in motor cars was also reflected in the number of newly registered cars plunging from 17,661 to 1,329, according to Stats NZ.
Total New Zealand exports fell $220m (4%) to $5.3 billion in April compared with the same month last year, led by a decline in the logging sector.
Imports from the European Union (EU) of electrical machinery and equipment, rail locomotives and rolling stock, and mechanical machinery, also fell compared with April 2019.
The value of goods imported in April fell $1.1 billion (22%) to $4b compared to the year prior and was the second largest fall on record since the series began in 1960.
The drop coincides with the level 4 lockdown which started at the end of March and ran until the end of April with non-essential businesses closed for the period.
Petroleum and products led the fall in imports, down $352m (58%) from a year ago. Within this category, the value of crude oil imports fell $255m (77%) after a relatively high value in April last year.
“This is crude oil’s lowest value since May 2018 … when the Marsden Point refinery closed for maintenance,” Allan says.
A fall in petrol and diesel of $97 million (down 35%) coincided with fewer New Zealanders driving their cars during the alert level 4 lockdown. Households are the largest users of petrol in New Zealand (using 59% of total petrol in the year ended March 2013).
Imports of cell phones also fell sharply in April, down $36m (42%) and was the largest contributor to the fall in electrical machinery and equipment, down $144 million (32%).
However, imports of face masks and laptops jumped in April with New Zealand importing $65m worth of face masks for the month.
“This is the single biggest month for imports of face masks on record and up $58m on levels seen in the same month in 2019,” Allan says.
“This follows an announcement from the Government that they had managed to arrange the import of 41 million masks from China.”
Imports from China of laptop computers was up $43m (62%), coinciding with many New Zealanders working from home because non-essential businesses were closed.
Imports from the European Union (EU) fell in April compared to the year prior, down $405m (40%), from $1b to $606m. Around $166m of this fall was due to a high value of aircraft and parts imported in April last year. Imports of aircraft and parts typically move up and down sharply, due to the timing of large aircraft arrivals, Allan says.
