According to the statistics department Stats NZ, New Zealand's total exports saw a growth of 14 percent to 72.2 billion NZ dollars (US$46.92 billion) in the year ended December 2022 compared with 2021. This growth was mainly driven by price inflation. Annual imports also rose sharply to 86.7 billion NZ dollars, up 23 percent.
However, horticulture exports see falls in export values due to lower volumes; fruit fell overall in 2022, with the value down 2.3 percent and quantities of fruit falling 7.7 percent. Kiwifruit led the fall in fruit. Kiwifruit diseases, labor shortages, and unseasonable weather patterns all played a role in the lower figures.
Avocados also fell 28 percent due to lower quantities, Allen said, adding that the fall in onions could be linked to the unusually dry season, as well as raised costs in production materials such as fertilizers and diesel.
Source: china.org.cn