Season's first kiwifruit China bound
Zespri's first charter shipment of the 2024 New Zealand kiwifruit season is on its way to Shanghai.
The value of goods exports to Australia ($8.7 billion) surpassed those to China for the year ended March 2015, says Statistics New Zealand.
This is the first time Australia has been our top export destination since the year ended November 2013, says international statistics manager Jason Attewell.
For the past five months, exports to China and Australia have both fallen, compared with the same month in the previous year. Falls in exports to China were larger than the falls to Australia.
Total goods exports fell $103 million (2.0 percent), down to $4.9 billion in March 2015 compared with March 2014. Exports to China fell $324 million (29 percent), due to whole milk powder. Exports to Australia fell $26 million.
Goods imports rose $169 million (4.1 percent), to reach $4.3 billion in March 2015. Consumption goods (including clothing) led the rise (up 19 percent).
In March 2015, the trade surplus of $631 million was down from the $904 million surplus in March 2014.
Excluding the re-export of a drilling platform to Singapore in March 2015, the trade surplus was $432 million.
For the year ended March 2015, there was an annual trade deficit of $2.4 billion (4.9 percent of exports).
This was the largest annual trade deficit since the year ended July 2009.
In the March 2015 quarter, the seasonally adjusted value of exported goods fell 0.6 percent ($70 million), down to $12 billion, compared with the December 2014 quarter. Imports fell 3.3 percent, to $13 billion.
The seasonally adjusted trade balance for the March 2015 quarter was a deficit of $490 million (4.0 percent of exports). Excluding one-off imports, the deficit in the December quarter was $623 million.
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents…
OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an…