NZ wholesale trade gains in 3rd qtr as fruit exports drive grocery, liquor and tobacco sales

Monday 7th December 2015

New Zealand wholesale trade rose in the third quarter as a jump in fruit exports drove the biggest quarterly gain in sales of grocery, liquor and tobacco in more than 20 years.

Seasonally adjusted sales rose 3.1 percent in the three months ended Sept. 30, accelerating from a 0.1 percent increase in June, according to Statistics New Zealand. Sales of grocery, liquor and tobacco, rose 5.3 percent in their biggest quarterly gain since the series began in March 1995, driven by an 8.8 percent increase in fruit exports.

Previous government data showed merchandise exports of fruit jumped 48 percent to $732 million in the September quarter from a year earlier, while more recent figures show fruit sales to foreign nations were up 29 percent to $2.28 billion in the year ended Oct. 31.

Wholesale trade covers intermediary transactions between manufacturers and consumers, which feeds into the national accounts and is used by economists to predict wider economic activity. Statistics NZ changed its methodology in collecting data for the September survey to use more administrative data and reduce its reliance on surveys, while also ending its split of raw materials and finished goods in measuring total stocks.

Today's figures showed wholesale inventories were built up for a fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, rising 1.6 percent. On an unadjusted basis, stocks were 5.8 percent higher than a year earlier.

Actual wholesale sales rose 3.1 percent to $23.63 billion in the quarter from the same period a year earlier, turning around a 0.4 percent decline in the June quarter.

Seasonally adjusted sales of basic material was the second biggest gainer in the quarter, up 3.4 percent, followed by a 2.5 percent rise in other goods. Sales of motor vehicles and parts gained 1.8 percent and machinery and equipment sales increased 1.1 percent. Commission-based sales was the only sector to decline, falling 0.1 percent in the quarter.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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