New Zealand's annual imports drop sharply in wake of COVID-19

WELLINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Imports fell heavily in 2020, down 7.4 billion NZ dollars (5.28 billion U.S. dollars) compared with the year to December 2019, but exports held up despite the COVID-19 pandemic, New Zealand's statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.

"Annual imports started to drop away in the early stages of 2020, as the pandemic spread, affecting cargo supply lines and factory production around the world," international trade manager Alasdair Allen said in a statement.

The December year fall in annual imports was the largest annual December fall since December 2009, Allen said.

"New Zealand imported much less fuel as international travel dried up, and the lockdown meant less travel within the country too," he said.

"Car imports also fell sharply after the lockdown when non-essential businesses closed, including car yards," he added.

In contrast to the sharp drop in imports, annual exports were relatively unchanged in 2020, up 24 million NZ dollars in the year to December 2020, Stats NZ said.

Breathing equipment (respiratory equipment) was up 526 million NZ dollars, due to high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, statistics show.

Fruit exports rose 525 million NZ dollars, driven by higher volumes and prices for kiwifruit, according to Stats NZ.

Aircraft and parts rose 435 million NZ dollars, as planes were sent to the United States for storage, during the slump in international travel, it said.

November and December saw record numbers with large falls in imports, and exports holding their own. This resulted in an annual trade surplus of 2.9 billion NZ dollars in December 2020, statistics showed. (1 U.S. dollar equals 1.40 NZ dollars)