New Zealand Balance of Trade

Last Release

May 31, 2025

Actual

1,235

Units In

NZD Million

1,285

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Jul 21, 2025

Time to Release

25 Days 22 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,350.34 Apr 2020	-2,625 Aug 2022	-98.7 NZD Million	1951-2025	Statistics New Zealand

New Zealand is greatly dependent on international trade. New Zealand's economy has traditionally been based on a foundation of exports from its very efficient agricultural system: dairy products, meat, forest products, fruit and beverages. New Zealand imports mainly vehicles, machinery and equipment, petroleum, electronics, plastics and aircraft. Its main trading partners are: China, Australia, the US, Japan and South Korea.

Latest Updates

New Zealand posted a trade surplus of NZD 1.235 billion in May 2025, a sharp improvement from the NZD 54 million surplus in the same month last year. Exports rose 9.7% from a year earlier to NZD7.7 billion, driven by strong demand for key commodities such as milk powder, butter, and cheese (+18%), fruit (+25%), meat and edible offal (+11%), and precious metals, jewelry, and coins (+69%). Imports rose at a slower pace, up 7.2% to NZD 6.4 billion, led by sharp increases in ships and boats (+443%), fertilizers (+179%), and electrical machinery (+5.0%). Export growth was broad-based, with shipments to China rising 13%, Australia 10%, and the European Union 41%. On the import side, only purchases from China increased (+3.7%), while imports declined from the US (-34%), Australia (-4.8%), the EU (-2.4%), and South Korea (-11%).