Economy grows almost 20 per cent in 5 years

“Strong growth of 0.6 per cent in the September GDP data means that the economy has grown almost 20 per cent in the last five years,” Finance Minister Michael Cullen said today.

“This translates in real income per person to an increase of 15 per cent. That is a good result for New Zealanders and is reflected in high household consumption, up 6.1 per cent over the September year.

“Although the figures show the high dollar is beginning to affect export performance, it should be remembered that a large part of the 5.7 per cent drop was due to dairy exports which were down 24 per cent over the quarter. But much of this drop was due to the late start to the season,” Dr Cullen said.