The value of New Zealand exports has continued to climb, reaching $6bn last month.
This was an increase of $871m, or 17 percent, compared with June 2020, and beats the previous high of $5.9bn reached in May 2021, according to the latest export figures from Stats NZ.
Beef exports rose $31m to reach a new high of $411m in June 2021, compared with June 2020. This increase was quantity driven, with volumes up 8.5 percent. The previous high for beef export values was $405m recorded in March 2020.
Outside of beef and log values, dairy put in a strong showing with milk powder, butter, and cheese also credited for driving the increase in total exports, after a rise of 31 percent or $384m.
Kiwifruit also rose $129m in June, up 43 percent compared with the same month last year.
China continued to receive the largest share, receiving 32 percent of New Zealand’s total exports in June. This included $703m, or 44% of dairy, the vast majority of logs at $367m or 90 percent, and $329m or 41 percent of meat.
The consecutive monthly records also translated into a record for the June 2021 quarter, according to Stats NZ, with total exports for the three months reaching the highest ever value of $17.2bn.
This was 9.2 percent or $1.5bn up on the same quarter last year and exceeded the previous peak from the June 2019 quarter when values hit $16.2bn.
