Kiwifruit shipments have driven a surge in New Zealand’s overall exports during August.
Figures released by Stats NZ show kiwifruit exports reachedNZ$268m last month, up 37 per cent on the corresponding period last year.
Stats NZ said the rise was the leading contributor toan increase of $306m in the country’s overall goods exports, which reached NZ$3.7bn for the month.
For theAugust 2017 year (12 months to 31 August), the value ofkiwifruit shipments hit a record NZ$1.8bn,up 13 per cent from the previous year. Volume was up9.8 per centover the same period.
'This annualincrease in kiwifruitexports was led bygold kiwifruit, in particular to China,'said Stats NZ’s international statistics senior manager Daria Kwon.
The value of New Zealand kiwifruit exports hit a seven year high earlier this year, topping NZ$373m for the month of May.
Goods imports reached NZ$4.9bn in August 2017, with the monthly trade deficit at NZ$1.2bn (33 percent of exports).
