Trade activities of New Zealand
Although New Zealand's exports and imports are not large in absolute terms, they account for a very important part of the New Zealand economy. According to ITC Trademap, New Zealand's total import and export turnover in 2023 reached 89.7 billion USD, equivalent to about 41% of the country's GDP.
For many years, New Zealand has maintained a trade deficit with an increasingly large trade deficit. Specifically, in 2014, New Zealand only had a trade deficit of about 0.9 billion USD, but this figure increased to 10.1 billion USD in 2023 (ITC Trademap, 2024).
Table 1 - New Zealand’s import-export turnover in the period 2014 – 2023
Unit: billion USD
|
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
|
Imports |
42.51 |
36.76 |
35.99 |
40.14 |
43.82 |
42.32 |
37.06 |
49.59 |
54.68 |
49.93 |
|
Exports |
41.62 |
34.30 |
33.76 |
37.02 |
38.43 |
38.18 |
37.47 |
43.36 |
44.00 |
39.80 |
|
Surplus/Deficit |
-0.89 |
-2.46 |
-2.23 |
-3.12 |
-5.38 |
-4.14 |
0.41 |
-6.23 |
-10.68 |
-10.13 |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2024
Imports
Over the past decade, New Zealand's import turnover has fluctuated over the years but has generally tended to increase. Specifically, New Zealand's import value has increased from 42.5 billion USD in 2014 to 49.9 billion USD in 2023.
Regarding the structure of imported goods: New Zealand mainly imports machinery, equipment, vehicles of all kinds, and aircraft under Chapters 84, 85, 87, 88 and 90 (accounting for 42% of New Zealand's total imports). Next, New Zealand imports a lot of products in the mining sector such as mineral fuels and mineral oils under Chapter 27 (accounting for 14.6%). In addition, New Zealand also has a relatively large import demand for pharmaceuticals, iron and steel products, etc.
Table 2 - Top 10 imported products of New Zealand in 2023
|
No. |
Main imported products of New Zealand |
Import turnover in 2023 (billion USD) |
Proposition in total imports |
|
1 |
Chapter 27: Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes |
7.30 |
14.63% |
|
2 |
Chapter 87: Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof |
6.95 |
13.91% |
|
3 |
Chapter 84: Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof |
6.81 |
13.63% |
|
4 |
Chapter 85: Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles |
4.48 |
8.97% |
|
5 |
Chapter 90: Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof |
1.68 |
3.36% |
|
6 |
Chapter 39: Plastics and articles thereof |
1.56 |
3.11% |
|
7 |
Chapter 30: Pharmaceuticals |
1.50 |
3.00% |
|
8 |
Chapter 88: Aircraft, spacecraft and parts thereof |
1.05 |
2.11% |
|
9 |
Chapter 23: Residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal feeding stuffs |
0.89 |
1.77% |
|
10 |
Chapter 73: Articles of iron or steel |
0.87 |
1.74% |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2024
Regarding import partners: China is New Zealand's largest import source, accounting for 20.7% of the country's total imports in 2023. Next is Australia, with the import proportion from this country accounting for about 11%. In addition, New Zealand also imports many goods from the United States and Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, etc.
Although not in the top 10 largest import sources of New Zealand, Vietnam is also listed as one of the country's significant import partners. In 2023, New Zealand's import value from Vietnam reached 938 million USD, accounting for 1.9% of total imports. With this result, Vietnam ranked 13th in the list of New Zealand's main import sources.
Table 3 - New Zealand's Top 10 Import partners in 2023
|
No. |
Import partners |
Export turnover in 2023 (billion USD) |
Proposition in total exports |
|
1 |
China |
10.33 |
20.70% |
|
2 |
Australia |
5.38 |
10.77% |
|
3 |
The United States |
4.90 |
9.82% |
|
4 |
South Korea |
3.72 |
7.44% |
|
5 |
Japan |
3.33 |
6.66% |
|
6 |
Singapore |
2.78 |
5.57% |
|
7 |
Germany |
2.23 |
4.47% |
|
8 |
Thailand |
2.02 |
4.05% |
|
9 |
Malaysia |
1.83 |
3.67% |
|
10 |
England |
1.31 |
2.62% |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2024
Exports
During the period 2014-2023, New Zealand's export turnover fluctuated but generally tended to decrease, from 41.6 billion USD in 2014 to 39.8 billion USD in 2023 (ITC Trademap, 2024), especially sharply decreasing in the period 2015-2016.
New Zealand mainly exports agricultural products, especially dairy products (accounting for about 30% of the country's total exports). Therefore, the decline in milk prices in the period 2015-2016 greatly affected the export value of dairy products in particular and New Zealand's exports in general.
Regarding the structure of export products: New Zealand is a strong agricultural country, so the country exports many agricultural products such as dairy, meat, seafood, fruits and cereals. These agricultural products account for 53.5% of New Zealand's total export turnover. In addition, New Zealand also exports many wood products, beverages, wine, seafood, aluminum, etc.
Table 4 - Top 10 export products of New Zealand in 2023
|
No. |
Main export products of New Zealand |
Export turnover in 2023 (billion USD) |
Proposition in total exports |
|
1 |
Chapter 4: Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin |
12.23 |
30.73% |
|
2 |
Chapter 2: Meat and meat by-products |
5.40 |
13.56% |
|
3 |
Chapter 44: Wood and articles of wood; wood charcoal |
2.88 |
7.25% |
|
4 |
Chapter 8: Edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons |
2.16 |
5.42% |
|
5 |
Chapter 22: Drinks, Wine and Vinegar |
1.53 |
3.86% |
|
6 |
Chapter 19: Cereal, flour and starch preparations |
1.52 |
3.82% |
|
7 |
Chapter 35: Albuminoidal substances; modified starches |
1.36 |
3.41% |
|
8 |
Chapter 84: Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof |
1.19 |
2.99% |
|
9 |
Chapter 3: Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates |
1.19 |
2.98% |
|
10 |
Chapter 76: Aluminium and articles thereof |
0.95 |
2.39% |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2024
Regarding export partners: China is New Zealand's largest export market, accounting for nearly 28% of the country's total export turnover in 2023. Next, New Zealand exports a lot to the United States and Australia, with export proportions to these two countries accounting for 12.3% and 12%, respectively. In addition, some Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, etc. have also been important export markets for New Zealand over the years.
Table 5 - New Zealand's Top 10 Export Partners in 2023
|
No. |
Export Partners |
Import turnover in 2023 (billion USD) |
Proposition in total imports |
|
1 |
China |
11.01 |
27.67% |
|
2 |
The United States |
4.90 |
12.32% |
|
3 |
Australia |
4.78 |
12.00% |
|
4 |
Japan |
2.23 |
5.61% |
|
5 |
South Korea |
1.36 |
3.43% |
|
6 |
Indonesia |
0.97 |
2.45% |
|
7 |
Singapore |
0.93 |
2.33% |
|
8 |
Taiwan (China) |
0.93 |
2.33% |
|
9 |
England |
0.81 |
2.05% |
|
10 |
Malaysia |
0.76 |
1.92% |
Source: ITC Trademap, 2024
Source: Center for WTO and International Trade
