China Export Decline Persists Through September 2023

The total value of goods exported to China in the year ended September 2023 was $19.3 billion, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

Annual exports to China have been falling since May 2023.

In the year ended September 2023, China received 27 percent of the total value of New Zealand's total goods exports ($70.4 billion). By comparison, in the year ended September 2013, China received 18 percent ($8.3 billion) of New Zealand's total goods export values ($46.0 billion).

"Over the past decade, exports to China have been steadily increasing, with a flat period during COVID-19, but in recent months this has started to shift," international trade manager Alasdair Allen said.

Year ended	"China	Australia	United States	Japan	European Union
Sep-13	People's Repubic of"	9300865278	4111079649	2798589838	2979828840
Oct-13	8266747367	9178965788	4144303408	2869932490	2980021488
Nov-13	8881742745	9196508771	4087035846	2836942228	3001993048
Dec-13	9424977549	9124668933	4071400211	2829151414	3047232872
Jan-14	9965232711	9049628298	4055673059	2822963071	3076783812
Feb-14	10554188502	9048825900	4046277044	2908199755	3107766394
Mar-14	10928961293	9015989896	4065919549	2814822793	3173937491
Apr-14	11183377507	9053213123	4116190184	2850736442	3209266731
May-14	11408795576	8971673385	4146492167	2912571305	3208473691
Jun-14	11594824332	8931222754	4225275752	2900494595	3247558024
Jul-14	11572309670	8875763117	4286351799	2931389476	3182182339
Aug-14	11531464148	8913748805	4350235628	2891827699	3207652847
Sep-14	11605203833	8869860889	4375461485	2924729097	3230326813
Oct-14	11363475784	8898327526	4453656812	2918592788	3255438210
Nov-14	10913903238	8810478132	4623357481	2906074015	3247259954
Dec-14	10375392151	8773487760	4704332491	2938391848	3215398778
Jan-15	9986191899	8738020472	4908231125	2972836470	3235209324
Feb-15	9343057325	8675667692	5005231863	2914419941	3181314369
Mar-15	8922289172	8647835262	5133388391	2955056376	3156640674
Apr-15	8581130826	8524844250	5240676014	2944537621	3119045828
May-15	8437971019	8523852952	5433783226	2936490711	3131899041
Jun-15	8247991914	8514420926	5483251477	2942814099	3131192670
Jul-15	8266623505	8528003996	5593953561	2985378345	3171644861
Aug-15	8352396644	8495874640	5644711688	2978594490	3201957221
Sep-15	8356460939	8426072788	5748211390	3013630748	3206815000
Oct-15	8356794037	8359348200	5754009018	2979242556	3219767576
Nov-15	8413847477	8327013931	5748084767	2991418519	3251946580
Dec-15	8530548508	8339522914	5757781145	2952502954	3283697338
Jan-16	8611422671	8395472466	5713275570	2952363630	3318444487
Feb-16	8751998038	8391849539	5692624171	2955233718	3375997934
Mar-16	8764409706	8367796245	5602871893	2963060560	3376275884
Apr-16	8736245984	8425999897	5640011481	2969140485	3430799491
May-16	8815942511	8441359065	5621817323	2963549180	3464013014
Jun-16	8984555083	8377196150	5644755435	3034711472	3464526039
Jul-16	9109910509	8411764794	5602734105	3003793127	3451938660
Aug-16	9085995627	8411699401	5539239564	2991841405	3409522507
Sep-16	9104213296	8366457500	5462302860	2941238215	3384929246
Oct-16	9188939776	8337022843	5449079586	2968747641	3356479677
Nov-16	9250093173	8348605868	5338833689	2967743409	3281371328
Dec-16	9270467185	8277020160	5298580470	2974982654	3238041910
Jan-17	9432047605	8351099928	5268415387	2948719772	3159306967
Feb-17	9554109609	8365232092	5253666666	2932718512	3137037192
Mar-17	9624121961	8326792402	5214590156	2966667386	3147901402
Apr-17	9929687906	8324322798	5186044068	2982890121	3108405009
May-17	10090119774	8338480928	5199133075	3074933660	3105101028
Jun-17	10201251047	8350269735	5232880179	3078571102	3113256250
Jul-17	10404695686	8346484515	5260881178	3124528684	3153822544
Aug-17	10740885940	8493709624	5268534358	3142344305	3176370692
Sep-17	10823855534	8551538055	5260729837	3192189327	3162361887
Oct-17	11040235567	8664054818	5214053023	3173387325	3181670941
Nov-17	11295478898	8689757384	5250673157	3121142225	3256580479
Dec-17	11696003444	8807782041	5324927943	3205408475	3308431674
Jan-18	12094098593	8842852712	5314653088	3244539944	3359293018
Feb-18	12145950598	8846846129	5333993333	3274192000	3403405558
Mar-18	12259870046	8913348662	5358871890	3263048012	3439239570
Apr-18	12206263511	8922878837	5342681473	3293848472	3484116521
May-18	12347067307	9007265574	5328921952	3296898172	3506234023
Jun-18	12605095417	9085531669	5326653456	3294018406	3511611722
Jul-18	12672133949	9051268231	5354876042	3292685220	3528447266
Aug-18	13005221388	8946777134	5396716750	3356624254	3527036087
Sep-18	13158949401	9057645535	5412419918	3421119896	3520653164
Oct-18	13262593110	9013047499	5469102398	3468926842	3552259469
Nov-18	13491671285	9038560803	5561897956	3556536316	3533875577
Dec-18	13652901794	9063086110	5501167262	3493899416	3515066502
Jan-19	13847432010	8968736763	5507977068	3487690502	3469256759
Feb-19	13934568572	8957890954	5463905730	3483951343	3489246272
Mar-19	14215680258	9011474807	5534737178	3492530597	3483936443
Apr-19	14725161895	8972584839	5617852126	3519854224	3475968372
May-19	15016949446	8941473423	5680181916	3566543247	3432898196
Jun-19	15348701797	8885012501	5640052641	3574472743	3379242594
Jul-19	15621251628	8891936192	5596723812	3589871784	3335536328
Aug-19	15598538586	8922041133	5602206517	3572365136	3312228333
Sep-19	15693633037	8834607511	5618454993	3524362900	3310887278
Oct-19	15884061165	8831860039	5628272842	3519138350	3290717312
Nov-19	16143397634	8790874345	5595517903	3511420834	3289446758
Dec-19	16627045336	8702846445	5622027525	3502426074	3265694495
Jan-20	16727221110	8701427808	5685599906	3549806490	3278657133
Feb-20	16998106812	8765741848	5805681204	3558609559	3273571773
Mar-20	16881992238	8689308985	5845828282	3609586249	3288626287
Apr-20	16714676085	8535797541	5861337414	3712251404	3186102660
May-20	16673267940	8452015190	5769324823	3705247192	3109461884
Jun-20	16581505464	8423349962	5845196143	3673549909	3124935952
Jul-20	16526323287	8424344963	6042476426	3651454619	3112289892
Aug-20	16483976270	8353718848	6302358894	3613150918	3105821475
Sep-20	16598517768	8246403627	6406367721	3571467710	3098224471
Oct-20	16439500182	8230356491	6483751437	3533573653	3118838139
Nov-20	16387638610	8068479361	6537076817	3521844078	3138876165
Dec-20	16365429276	8098991501	6627974364	3529392658	3199693665
Jan-21	16419131404	8071549515	6550543800	3475938369	3174007490
Feb-21	16374721719	7941945306	6506592937	3451578179	3105359904
Mar-21	16847463005	7831741378	6444090035	3437603438	3035159779
Apr-21	17266358010	7952967043	6451917932	3253556066	3073408084
May-21	17680584356	7883938400	6516554051	3270918644	3135741459
Jun-21	18017265611	7956494174	6528031634	3305293783	3158386498
Jul-21	18701682033	7980720324	6510616570	3375185114	3219492103
Aug-21	19014426853	7930314201	6435639443	3401407927	3205926533
Sep-21	19143093706	7889934541	6548771504	3391467863	3208576681
Oct-21	19420555686	7846037042	6603075252	3471419424	3198707913
Nov-21	19702127207	7995707510	6633992359	3562547287	3216669232
Dec-21	20051673940	7914447909	6694004171	3608785136	3263462374
Jan-22	20039868067	7915153057	6831714108	3673848193	3287133914
Feb-22	20240605480	7972190204	6836020963	3700404471	3338364020
Mar-22	20085538691	7986997681	7051108711	3765592290	3362572116
Apr-22	20261089434	8012460712	7102718810	3919310502	3428133345
May-22	20157780004	8289338818	7205901597	3905894906	3501982841
Jun-22	20102823585	8171054696	7300824404	3996690596	3600871809
Jul-22	19833667258	8113221684	7315616704	4050691334	3668949144
Aug-22	19939930408	8246485137	7398292885	4089961962	3735571451
Sep-22	20182181946	8432626281	7458587726	4178927399	3834384884
Oct-22	20532621424	8562054354	7543780138	4120857098	3920874469
Nov-22	20482764822	8610691276	7609375927	4143672358	3967607684
Dec-22	20177330237	8697095913	7817718915	4173105429	3983890528
Jan-23	20131643029	8786542380	7824880515	4209212475	4024757439
Feb-23	20215048256	8805847875	7901402645	4273316385	4001269048
Mar-23	20276551928	8975466971	7908888698	4233878448	4103745386
Apr-23	20073084104	9029762922	8002320906	4144541543	4153766495
May-23	20234389407	8907218893	8064185767	4165326279	4148036966
Jun-23	20511657263	9085473633	8132664266	4103310416	4077798053
Jul-23	20351508521	9128788328	8224249121	4013952714	3967852461
Aug-23	19920234764	9060695081	8279375651	3969312406	4001169563
Sep-23	19660082606	9034206028	8237057228	3933970453	3955374662

Of our top 15 export commodities for the year ended September 2023, China was our top trading partner for seven of those commodities.

"China is an especially important market for exporters in our primary sectors of food and forestry," Allen said.

Rank	Commodities	September 2023 year ended values ($ billion)	Top export destination	Proportion of exports (%) *
1	Milk powder, butter, and cheese	20.3	China	32
2	Meat and edible offal	8.7	China	37
3	Logs, wood, and wood articles	4.8	China	62
4	Fruits	3.7	China	25
5	Preparations of milk, cereals, flour, and starch (including infant formula)	2.5	China	57
6	Mechanical machinery and equipment	2.4	Australia	31
7	Wine	2.3	USA	36
8	Fish, crustaceans, and molluscs	1.9	China	36
9	Casein and caseinates	1.9	China	31
10	Aluminium and aluminium articles	1.6	Japan	37
11	Electrical machinery and equipment	1.5	USA	26
12	Miscellaneous edible preparations	1.5	Australia	32
13	Optical, medical, and measuring equipment	1.2	USA	27
14	Precious metals, jewellery, and coins	0.9	Australia	79
15	Iron and steel, and articles	0.8	Australia	28
*This is the proportion of the total exports of each commodity that were sent to the top export destination for the year ended September 2023.

Other main export partners for top commodities

In the year ended September 2023, the following commodities' main export market was not China.

Mechanical machinery and equipment exports were valued at $2.4 billion in the year ended September 2023. Australia and the United States were the main markets. This category includes things like agricultural machinery (for example, harvesting machines and grading or sorting machines for fruits), as well as other machinery such as laptops.

Country	Value
Australia	746217264
United States	626762636
European Union	190132201
United Kingdom	95546965
Canada	81479846
Fiji	78222787
United Arab Emirates	58932149
Rest of the world	502900760

Wine exports were valued at $2.3 billion in the year ended September 2023. The United States was our main market for wine.

Country	Value
United States	827417828
United Kingdom	508929204
Australia	424535691
European Union	232784587
Canada	135967311
"China	38796667
People's Republic of"	122570163
Rest of the world

Aluminium and aluminium articles exports were valued at $1.6 billion in the year ended September 2023. Japan was our main market.

Country	Value
Japan	580244428
"Korea	413442593
Republic of"	150925800
European Union	83012440
Australia	54122940
United States	46664726
India	236855257
Rest of the world

Electrical machinery and equipment exports were valued at $1.5 billion in the year ended September 2023. The United States was our number one market, followed very closely by Australia.

Country	Value
United States	387682771
Australia	371906335
European Union	138698513
Fiji	69379276
"Korea	59626082
Republic of"	54616357
United Kingdom	426629549
Rest of the world

Optical, medical, and measuring equipment exports were valued at $1.2 billion in the year ended September 2023. The United States was our main market. During the COVID-19 period, exports of optical, medical, and measuring equipment was at its peak.

Country	Value
United States	321228640
European Union	234235647
Australia	176862678
"China	91222633
People's Republic of"	54860532
Japan	51376563
United Kingdom	37287673
Canada	213839986
Rest of the world

Month	"Optical
Sep-13	medical
Oct-13	and measuring equipment"
Nov-13	769776373
Dec-13	759858352
Jan-14	754670840
Feb-14	745953056
Mar-14	741822626
Apr-14	737588461
May-14	733830715
Jun-14	726528692
Jul-14	722734396
Aug-14	711187691
Sep-14	712851776
Oct-14	701143280
Nov-14	702683430
Dec-14	710762697
Jan-15	716559570
Feb-15	710149660
Mar-15	721179280
Apr-15	743207566
May-15	750237442
Jun-15	763753849
Jul-15	771829442
Aug-15	794625901
Sep-15	812887491
Oct-15	829562634
Nov-15	848243160
Dec-15	844279907
Jan-16	839072685
Feb-16	841849479
Mar-16	846605728
Apr-16	841432373
May-16	859992263
Jun-16	863639994
Jul-16	860920834
Aug-16	850499897
Sep-16	849975329
Oct-16	836620215
Nov-16	831057196
Dec-16	833904344
Jan-17	830271048
Feb-17	830617970
Mar-17	832865064
Apr-17	836405356
May-17	828700132
Jun-17	821263745
Jul-17	835048012
Aug-17	835253078
Sep-17	832777287
Oct-17	839789135
Nov-17	838960683
Dec-17	857523451
Jan-18	875010345
Feb-18	882983154
Mar-18	879446718
Apr-18	872722426
May-18	873227845
Jun-18	880481801
Jul-18	870470097
Aug-18	877766780
Sep-18	883384662
Oct-18	895550657
Nov-18	904123432
Dec-18	898008637
Jan-19	906566449
Feb-19	910486295
Mar-19	920238097
Apr-19	929119881
May-19	933772377
Jun-19	931850116
Jul-19	950703842
Aug-19	946296669
Sep-19	954885193
Oct-19	962246178
Nov-19	970895856
Dec-19	986085491
Jan-20	997879600
Feb-20	1005271406
Mar-20	1013363176
Apr-20	1021934994
May-20	1048834384
Jun-20	1070350195
Jul-20	1105415379
Aug-20	1153326904
Sep-20	1204335969
Oct-20	1254922149
Nov-20	1298826008
Dec-20	1362981988
Jan-21	1434063866
Feb-21	1528210683
Mar-21	1557374227
Apr-21	1574115152
May-21	1579079593
Jun-21	1624741108
Jul-21	1641564112
Aug-21	1622730233
Sep-21	1598210249
Oct-21	1556257491
Nov-21	1551021642
Dec-21	1509939514
Jan-22	1452717340
Feb-22	1414048621
Mar-22	1370476227
Apr-22	1356617591
May-22	1333289045
Jun-22	1296100314
Jul-22	1244666548
Aug-22	1236200516
Sep-22	1218376372
Oct-22	1235803886
Nov-22	1215901454
Dec-22	1206854635
Jan-23	1201798832
Feb-23	1172817141
Mar-23	1189760743
Apr-23	1187381766
May-23	1202024837
Jun-23	1189688816
Jul-23	1188612504
Aug-23	1191237835
Sep-23	1181819160

/Stats NZ Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

Other main export partners for top commodities

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