Cullen's Doom Machine Grinds Over Again

  • Dr Lockwood Smith
International Trade

Trade Minister Lockwood Smith says that Michael Cullen's comments on the February 1999 merchandise trade statistics reinforce the Labour Party's commitment to broadcasting bad news, and overlooks the continued success of New Zealand exporters in a difficult international environment.

"February has been a challenging month for our exporters, who have had to contend with low global commodity prices, economic difficulties experienced by significant trading partners, and the appreciation of the New Zealand dollar," said Dr Smith.

"However, today's statistics show that exports for the year to February 1999 have continued to experience growth over previous years, and there are encouraging signs of continued growth which Labour has conveniently overlooked.

"Exports of seafood and electrical goods continue to show strong growth, and with yesterday's announcement of reduced quotas and tariffs for seafood products in Europe, we can expect the value of our seafood exports to increase over the coming year.

"The statistics also register a recovery in demand for New Zealand products within key Asian markets. It's still too early to say that the Asian economies have recovered from the economic and financial crisis, but today's statistics show that many economies have turned the corner, and we might expect to register increased demand over the coming months", said Dr Smith.

"Dr Cullen says that 'all the evidence points to further poor performance'. This shows an appalling lack of confidence in New Zealand's exporters, who in recent months have continued to experience success in international markets in spite of a difficult external environment", said Dr Smith.

Provisional merchandise exports for the month of February 1999 were $1,807 million, up from $1,797 million in February 1998. Exports for the year ended February 1999 were $22,394 million, up 2.9 percent from $21,770 for the year ended February 1998.

Exports to Australia were up 4.2 percent for February, reflecting consistent growth of 5.4 percent for the twelve months to February 1999. Exports to the Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China for February 1999 were up 78.5 percent and 23.1 percent respectively.