Low dairy prices drive down New Zealand exports

New Zealand exports to China last month were less than half the value of January 2014, leading a fall in the country's total goods exports, the government statistics agency announced on Thursday.

Total exports were down by 9.1 percent year on year to 3.7 billion NZ dollars ($2.79 billion) in January, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Dairy milk powder, butter, and cheese exports drove the fall, down 30 percent, as international commodity prices fell.

The quantity of dairy products exported rose 2.9 percent, led by cheese and butter, however the quantity of milk powder exported fell 3.1 percent.

"Lower milk powder prices in the last five months, compared with the same months a year earlier, are the main reason exports have been falling," international statistics manager Jason Attewell said in a statement.

"Although export values fell, we saw record quantities of dairy and meat exports for a January month."

A 20-percent rise in meat exports partly offset the fall in monthly exports, led by frozen beef, up 53 percent.

Dairy exports to China fell by 74 percent, or 571 million NZ dollars ($431.62 million), and total exports to China were down 52 percent to 597 million NZ dollars ($451.45 million).

Imports fell by 3.8 percent to 3.6 billion NZ dollars ($2.72 billion), led by a 9.8-percent fall in intermediate goods, such as crude oil and automotive diesel.

New Zealand had a trade surplus in January of 56 million NZ dollars ($42.33 million), or 1.5 percent of exports.