January trade deficit reduces by half a billion dollars

The monthly trade balance in January 2008 was a deficit of $320 million, down more than half a billiondollars on the deficit recorded in January 2007, Statistics New Zealand said today.

Two export commoditygroups drove the January 2008 decrease in the monthly deficit when compared with January 2007, theywere milk powder, butter and cheese, which rose $292 million, and petroleum and products which rose$225 million.

Exports in January 2008 rose 24.0 percent when compared with the previous year, while the change inimports over this period was comparatively small with an increase of 2.8 percent.Milk powder, butter and cheese, and petroleum and products, continue to be the commodity groupsshowing the largest export increases, as they have done since October 2007.

Milk powder rose to a level of$482 million.

The main destinations for this product in the January 2008 month were Venezuela, thePhilippines and Malaysia, which together took over $132 million.

Over three quarters of the top 40 import commodity groups (by annual value) recorded increases whencomparing January 2008 with January 2007.

However total merchandise imports only recorded a smallincrease.

This rise was limited by the import of a large aircraft in January 2007.

The trade balance surplus with Australia at $116 million is the largest monthly surplus recorded in the last20 years.

The average monthly trade balance with Australia in the last decade is an $82 million deficit.

Thecommodity group contributing most to the January 2008 surplus was petroleum and products accounting foralmost one third of our exports to Australia