Statistics New Zealand have reported preliminary data that has shown whilst New Zealand imports have fallen 11 percent, exports have risen 3.7 percent during the week ended 18 March 2020. The leading reason for this import fall was industrial transport equipment such as aircraft. Stats NZ state that higher prices for our dairy are offsetting plummeting demand for logs and fish during the Covid-19 pandemic. The total value of goods exports rose 4.5 percent in February 2020 compared to a year earlier, rising by $212 million and driven particularly by dairy products such as milk powder. A fall in sheep meat volume was partly offset by a rise in beef exports, with average prices rising per tonne for both.

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