Overseas Trade Indexes (Volumes): March 2010 quarter (provisional)

Merchandise export volumes

Seasonally adjusted export volumes rose 3.0 percent in the March 2010 quarter, following a 0.8 percent fall in the December 2009 quarter. Export volumes are now back to a level similar to that last seen in December 2007 – which was the highest level since the series began in 1990. Fruit (fresh or prepared), forestry products, petroleum and petroleum products, and meat were the main contributors to the increase in export volumes.

 

Fruit (fresh or prepared) volumes, a sub-index of food and beverages, increased 23.1 percent in the March 2010 quarter, contributing the most to the overall rise in export volumes. Historically, the first three months of the year show very low levels of kiwifruit exports; however, the latest two March quarters have shown growth in volumes exported. These increases, combined with a decline in apple volumes for the current quarter, have seen kiwifruit become the main contributor to this quarter's seasonally adjusted increase in total fruit volumes.

Forestry product volumes rose 6.1 percent for the quarter. Leading contributors to this increase were manufactured wood products (up 12.3 percent) and wood (up 5.1 percent).

Other significant contributors to the overall volumes increase were:

• Petroleum and petroleum products, up 10.6 percent. Crude oil made a significant contribution to this increase. The petroleum and petroleum products series is not seasonally adjusted.
• Meat rose 4.1 percent. Contributing to this were increases in lamb, hogget, and mutton, (up 4.6 percent), beef and veal (up 3.2 percent), and other meat (up 4.4 percent).

Dairy and casein product volumes made the largest offsetting contribution, down 2.1 percent for the March 2010 quarter. Casein volumes had the most significant fall in this category, down 14.0 percent, followed by cheese and whole milk powder, which were down 7.8 and 2.5 percent, respectively. Both the cheese and the whole milk powder series are not seasonally adjusted.

Merchandise import volumes

Seasonally adjusted import volumes rose 2.8 percent in the March 2010 quarter, the third consecutive quarterly rise. Consumption goods and intermediate goods were the main contributors to the rise. Capital goods, passenger motor cars, and motor spirit all recorded decreases in the current quarter.

 

Consumption goods rose 5.1 percent in the March 2010 quarter, and were the largest contributor to the overall rise in import volumes. All the consumption goods sub-categories recorded increases in the current quarter, led by processed food and beverages for household consumption, up 5.1 percent and semi-durable, up 3.8 percent.

Intermediate goods rose 0.8 percent in the March 2010 quarter, following a 2.0 percent fall in the December 2009 quarter, and a 8.9 percent rise in the September 2009 quarter. Within the intermediate goods category:

• Processed industrial supplies (up 7.9 percent) was the largest contributor to the rise, led by aluminium oxide.
• Primary fuels and lubricants (up 2.7 percent) was the next largest contributor, due to crude oil.
• Processed fuels and lubricants (down 43.0 percent) was the largest offsetter, due to a fall in distillate fuels imported.
• Parts and accessories of transport equipment (down 19.1 percent), was the next largest offsetter, due to a fall in aircraft parts imported.

Capital goods fell 20.7 percent in the March 2010 quarter, following a 8.1 percent rise in the December 2009 quarter. The major contributor to the decrease was capital transport equipment (down 36.0 percent), due to lower volumes of aircraft. The capital transport equipment index is at its lowest level since the September 1997 quarter. Capital machinery and plant (not transport equipment), rose 3.5 percent in the March 2010 quarter.

 Other broad economic category indexes with decreases were:

• Passenger motor car volumes, down 12.4 percent in the March 2010 quarter, following three consecutive quarterly rises. New petrol cars with cylinder capacities exceeding 1500cc contributed the most to the fall in the latest quarter.
• Motor spirit volumes fell 3.8 percent in the March 2010 quarter, following a rise of 37.2 percent in the December 2009 quarter.

Updates to previously published data

The overseas trade indexes are provisional for one quarter to allow for the receipt and editing of late and amended trade documentation. The following table shows updates to unadjusted indexes and values.

 

The import and export merchandise series in this release are calculated from the same data as used in the Overseas Merchandise Trade: April 2010 monthly release published on 27 May 2010. Updates published after this date will be included in subsequent overseas trade index (volumes) releases.

For technical information contact:
Soni Makaafi or Scott Davis
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: overseastrade@stats.govt.nz.

Next releases ...

Overseas Trade Indexes (Prices): June 2010 quarter (provisional)
and
Overseas Trade Indexes (Volumes): June 2010 quarter (provisional)
will both be released on 10 September 2010.