New Zealand’s exports to the United States have increased for the sixth consecutive March year in 2016. This earned New Zealand $2.8 billion more in 2016 compared to the same period in 2010, according to data from Statistics New Zealand.
Data showed New Zealand has earned $444 million more from exports to the US than imports for the March 2016 year. New Zealand earned $8.4 billion from exports to the US while import expenditure to that country was $7.9 billion. Total exports to the US made it the country’s fourth largest export destination in the latest year.
In the March 2016 year, meat and edible offal was New Zealand’s top export commodity to the US, earning $1.8 billion, an increase from the $1.1 billion in the March 2014 year.
“New Zealand had record beef exports to the US through the middle of 2015 and this strength has resulted in a 55 per cent increase over the past two years,” said Nicola Growden, international statistics senior manager. “Beef contributed 81 per cent of meat exports to the US in the latest year.”
Spending by US visitors to New Zealand, which amounted to $1.0 billion, was the country’s second largest export earner from the US. Together, meat and travel contributed over one-third of New Zealand’s total exports to the US in the March 2016 year, Statistics New Zealand stated.
Despite a $49 million fall in expenditure on imports from the US in the March 2016 year, it is still the country’s fourth largest import source and has remained unchanged from the March 2015 year. New Zealand’s largest import expense from the US include mechanical machinery and equipment ($1.3 billion), including turbo jet and propeller parts, followed by aircraft and parts ($1.1 billion).
New Zealand’s trade with the rest of the world recorded a surplus for the March 2016 year. The country earned $2.9 billion more from exports than it spent on imports. Total exports of goods and services for the year ended March 2016 totalled $69.8 billion, while imports totalled $66.9 billion.
New Zealand recorded trade surpluses with 16 of the country’s top 25 trading partners in the March 2016 year, including the US. New Zealand’s top three trade surpluses in the latest year were with Australia, China, and the US.
