New Zealand dairy exports to China contribute to record monthly high

WELLINGTON - New Zealand's dairy section led the rise in goods exports in November 2019 as dairy exports to China contributed to a record monthly high, according to a latest Stats NZ report released on Thursday.

Milk powder exports to China increased 260 million NZD (about $172 million) from November 2018 to reach 711 million NZD (about 469 million dollars) this month.

Butter exports to China also rose 44 million NZD (about 29 million dollars) to reach 70 million NZD (about $46 million) in November.

The rise in dairy exports to China contributed to a record monthly high of 1.9 billion NZD (about 1.2 billion dollars) worth of total goods exports to China in November.

According to the report, this is the highest value of milk powder exports for a November month since dairy exports peaked in 2013.

Dairy was the main contributor to total goods exports reaching 5.2 billion NZD (about $3.4 billion), up 371 million NZD (about $245 million) from the same month last year.

Milk powder exports had the largest increase within the dairy category, up 252 million from the same month last year.

"Typically, exports of milk powder go over 1.0 billion NZD (about $660 million) in December months, the peak of the dairy export season," Allan said.

"Since the start of the 2019/20 season, we've seen higher quantities and prices for milk powder exports compared with the previous season. The high this month was mainly driven by price, but quantities were also up."

Local dairy expert told Xinhua that the 2nd China International Import Exhibition held last month in Shanghai was one of the main reasons for the unusual New Zealand dairy export boom.