That dollar amount results from a 4.2% gain compared to $38.2 billion five years earlier during 2019.
Year over year, the value of goods exported from New Zealand reduced by -9.5% from $44 billion in 2022.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, the New Zealand dollar shrank by -7.3% against the US dollar since 2019 and declined by -3.2% from 2022 to 2023. New Zealand’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
New Zealand’s biggest export products by value in 2023 were concentrated and sweetened milk or cream, butter, frozen beef, sheep or goat meat, and rough wood. In aggregate, those major exports generated almost four-fifths (38.2%) of overall exports sales from New Zealand. That percentage suggests a relatively concentrated range of exported goods mainly from the agricultural sector.
New Zealand is a world leader for exporting concentrated and sweetened milk or cream, rough wood and butter plus other milk fats and oils.
New Zealand also ranks among the top countries for global sales of sheep or goat meat and frozen beef.
New Zealand’s Best International Trade Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 75.6% of products exported from New Zealand were bought by importers in: mainland China (27.7% of New Zealand’s total), United States of America (12.3%), Australia (12%), Japan (5.6%), South Korea (3.4%), Indonesia (2.4%), Singapore (2.3%), Taiwan (also 2.3%), United Kingdom (2%), Malaysia (1.92%), Thailand (1.88%) and Saudi Arabia (1.6%).
From a continental perspective, 58% of New Zealand’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 14.6% was sold to North America importers. New Zealand shipped another 14.2% worth of goods to buyers in Oceania led by Australia and Fiji.
Smaller percentages went to Europe (8.7%), Africa (3%) then Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (1.4%).
Given New Zealand’s population of 5.2 million people, its total $39.8 billion during 2023 export sales translates to roughly $7,700 for every resident in the Oceanian island country. That per-capita amount lags the average $8,600 in 2022.
New Zealand’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups categorize the highest dollar value in global shipments from New Zealand during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from New Zealand.
- Dairy, eggs, honey: US$12.2 billion (30.7% of total exports)
- Meat: $5.4 billion (13.6%)
- Wood: $2.9 billion (7.2%)
- Fruits, nuts: $2.2 billion (5.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $1.53 billion (3.9%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $1.52 billion (3.8%)
- Modified starches, glues, enzymes: $1.4 billion (3.4%)
- Machinery including computers: $1.19 billion (3%)
- Fish: $1.19 billion (3%)
- Aluminum: $949.8 million (2.4%)
New Zealand’s top 10 exports accounted for over three-quarters (76.4%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Machinery including computers was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 5% from 2022 to 2023.
The only other leading product category to post greater sales was fish via a 2.9% upturn.
The leading decliner among New Zealand’s top 10 export categories was meat, which fell -13.8% year over year.
For a detailed listing of New Zealand’s most lucrative exports at the 4-digit HTS code level, please see the Searchable List of New Zealand’s Most Valuable Export Products further down this article.
Products Generating the Greatest Trade Surpluses
The following types of New Zealand product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Dairy, eggs, honey: US$12 billion (Down by -8.68% since 2022)
- Meat: $5.2 billion (Down by -14.4%)
- Wood: $2.6 billion (Down by -8.5%)
- Fruits, nuts: $1.8 billion (Down by -13.4%)
- Modified starches, glues, enzymes: $1.2 billion (Down by -14.1%)
- Cereal/milk preparations: $1.08 billion (Down by -4.9%)
- Fish: $1.06 billion (Up by 4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $964.2 million (Down by -9.9%)
- Aluminum: $572.5 million (Up by 2%)
- Miscellaneous animal-origin products: $404.4 million (Down by -9.9%)
New Zealand has highly positive net exports in the international trade of agricultural products. In turn, these cashflows indicate New Zealand’s strong competitive advantages under the dairy, eggs and honey category–particularly for milk, cream, butter and cheese.
Products Causing the Biggest Trade Deficits
New Zealand garnered a -US$10.1 billion trade deficit for 2023, falling by -5.1% from -$10.7 billion in red ink in 2022.
Below are exports from New Zealand that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country New Zealand’s goods trail the island country’s import purchases.
- Vehicles: -US$6.8 billion (Down by -4% since 2022)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$6.7 billion (Up by 20.3%)
- Machinery including computers: -$5.6 billion (Down by -9.2%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$3.8 billion (Down by -6.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$1.3 billion (Down by -25.9%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$1.14 billion (Down by -14%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$1.1 billion (Up by 4%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: -$1 billion (Up by 75.8%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$791.3 million (Down by -24.7%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$735.8 million (Down by -30.9%)
New Zealand has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for cars, trucks and automotive parts or accessories.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate New Zealand’s competitive disadvantages on international markets for vehicles.
Major New Zealand Export Companies
The NZX50 Index is the main stock market index for New Zealand. Based on that index, the following companies are among leading stock companies in New Zealand that have the highest capitalization values.
- The a2 Milk Company Limited (dairy products)
- Steel & Tube Holdings Limited (building materials)
- Nuplex Industries Limited (resins for decorative/industrial/protective coatings)
- Coats Group PLC (sewing supplies, zippers, fasteners)
- Kathmandu Holdings Limited (outdoor clothing, equipment)
- Mainfreight Limited (logistics, transportation)
- Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (financial services)
Searchable List of New Zealand’s Most Valuable Export Products
At the more granular four-digit HTS code level, the following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from New Zealand during 2023. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2022.
| Rank | New Zealand Export | Value (US$) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Concentrated/sweetened milk, cream | $6,960,739,000 | -1.1% |
| 2 | Butter | $2,028,059,000 | +39.6% |
| 3 | Sheep or goat meat | $2,903,195,000 | -3.6% |
| 4 | Frozen beef | $2,471,016,000 | +10.9% |
| 5 | Rough wood | $2,823,039,000 | -20% |
| 6 | Miscellaneous fruits (fresh) | $2,026,361,000 | -14.6% |
| 7 | Cheese, curd | $1,482,882,000 | +13.7% |
| 8 | Flour/meal/starch/malt extract food preparations | $1,270,507,000 | +11% |
| 9 | Wine | $1,369,258,000 | +2.5% |
| 10 | Casein, caseinates | $885,322,000 | +33.2% |
| 11 | Not concentrated/unsweetened milk, cream | $869,117,000 | +4% |
| 12 | Aluminum (unwrought) | $828,957,000 | +4% |
| 13 | ALERT! | $992,576,000 | -29.9% |
| 14 | Other food preparations | $652,509,000 | +5.6% |
| 15 | Sawn wood | $668,687,000 | -6.7% |
| 16 | Whey | $550,780,000 | +11.6% |
| 17 | Apples, pears (fresh) | $603,241,000 | -3.2% |
| 18 | Crude oil | $316,269,000 | +84.3% |
| 19 | Mechano-therapy appliances | $640,124,000 | -33.3% |
| 20 | Gold (unwrought) | $337,317,000 | +14.8% |
| 21 | Fresh or chilled beef | $375,959,000 | +0.4% |
| 22 | Chemical woodpulp (non-dissolving) | $317,076,000 | +18.8% |
| 23 | Moluscs | $293,524,000 | +0.2% |
| 24 | Albumins | $232,602,000 | +25.7% |
| 25 | Animal guts, bladders | $246,575,000 | +16.5% |
| 26 | Crustaceans (including lobsters) | $271,869,000 | +4.3% |
| 27 | Wool (uncarded, uncombed) | $298,234,000 | -10% |
| 28 | Natural honey | $327,153,000 | -18.4% |
| 29 | Miscellaneous animal feed preparations | $237,226,000 | +3.8% |
| 30 | Iron or steel scrap | $248,629,000 | -1.3% |
| 31 | Whole fish (frozen) | $267,177,000 | -10.1% |
| 32 | Live bovine cattle | $220,740,000 | +7.1% |
| 33 | Red meat offal | $249,513,000 | -8.1% |
| 34 | Ligneous fiberboard including wood | $185,261,000 | +17.7% |
| 35 | Fish fillets, pieces | $213,522,000 | -7.1% |
| 36 | Blood fractions (including antisera) | $195,068,000 | -0.7% |
| 37 | Bovine/sheep/goat fats | $166,028,000 | +8.7% |
| 38 | Electrical converters/power units | $125,942,000 | +23.8% |
| 39 | Inedible meat flour | $138,483,000 | +10.2% |
| 40 | Buttermilk, yogurt | $123,398,000 | +19.7% |
| 41 | Miscellaneous meat (preserved/prepared) | $172,252,000 | -15% |
| 42 | Non-alcoholic drinks (not water/juice/milk) | $135,364,000 | +7.3% |
| 43 | Mechanical woodpulp | $110,153,000 | +29.3% |
| 44 | Sowing seeds, fruits, spores | $165,844,000 | -20% |
| 45 | Coated paper | $115,863,000 | +11.9% |
| 46 | Miscellaneous meat | $120,263,000 | +1.7% |
| 47 | Whole fish (fresh) | $113,967,000 | +2.8% |
| 48 | Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries | $122,856,000 | -8.9% |
| 49 | Phone devices including smartphones | $94,309,000 | +16.9% |
| 50 | Processed petroleum oils | $98,062,000 | +8.4% |
| 51 | Aluminum waste, scrap | $93,255,000 | +10.5% |
| 52 | Medication mixes in dosage | $97,671,000 | +2.8% |
| 53 | Semi-chemical woodpulp | $89,933,000 | +8% |
| 54 | Chocolate, other cocoa preparations | $63,247,000 | +53.4% |
| 55 | Agriculture/horticulture/forestry machines | $72,570,000 | +30.5% |
| 56 | Miscellaneous animal products | $88,668,000 | +6.5% |
| 57 | Frozen vegetables | $102,961,000 | -8.3% |
| 58 | Harvest/threshing machinery | $114,854,000 | -19.9% |
| 59 | Miscellaneous engines, motors | $65,923,000 | +38.1% |
| 60 | Magnets including electro-magnets | $70,133,000 | +22.4% |
| 61 | Onions, garlic, leeks | $111,750,000 | -25% |
| 62 | Plastic tableware, kitchenware, toiletry | $76,598,000 | +7% |
| 63 | Peptones, other protein substances | $71,190,000 | +14.5% |
| 64 | Uncoated kraft paper | $71,515,000 | +10.8% |
| 65 | Solar power diodes/semi-conductors | $75,377,000 | -3.2% |
| 66 | Yachts, other pleasure/sports vessels | $60,363,000 | +16.1% |
| 67 | Plastic packing goods, lids, caps | $74,610,000 | -8% |
| 68 | Beauty/makeup/skin care preparations | $73,549,000 | -8.6% |
| 69 | Shaped wood | $64,916,000 | +1.9% |
| 70 | Temperature-change machines | $76,277,000 | -13.3% |
| 71 | Bovine/equine rawhides, skins | $57,120,000 | +15.5% |
| 72 | Mixed sauces, condiments | $77,909,000 | -15.9% |
| 73 | Solid-form sugars, fructose, glucose, lactose | $51,154,000 | +26.2% |
| 74 | Ivory, tortoiseshell, whalebone | $52,390,000 | +21.5% |
| 75 | Bovine/equine leather | $67,597,000 | -9.2% |
| 76 | Copper waste, scrap | $57,357,000 | +3.5% |
| 77 | Miscellaneous plastic items | $77,170,000 | -23.1% |
| 78 | Live horses, mules | $65,958,000 | -10.2% |
| 79 | Dishwashing, clean/dry/fill machines | $72,071,000 | -18.3% |
| 80 | Machine-tool for metal | $58,034,000 | -2% |
| 81 | Electro-medical equip (e.g. xrays) | $80,821,000 | -30.9% |
| 82 | Other prepared/preserved vegetables (frozen) | $54,122,000 | +0.7% |
| 83 | Fuel wood, wood chips, sawdust | $45,695,000 | +17.3% |
| 84 | Apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums | $35,213,000 | +51.9% |
| 85 | Sugar confectionery (no cocoa) | $68,075,000 | -22.2% |
| 86 | Soups, broths | $48,463,000 | +6.4% |
| 87 | Dates/figs/pineapples/mangoes/avocadoes/guavas | $77,796,000 | -35.1% |
| 88 | Tufted carpets/textile floor coverings | $51,361,000 | -2.8% |
| 89 | Miscellaneous iron and steel structures | $52,836,000 | -7.6% |
| 90 | Miscellaneous fresh/chilled vegetables | $70,962,000 | -34.1% |
| 91 | Fruit and vegetable juices | $56,906,000 | -19.5% |
| 92 | Lifting/loading machinery | $92,444,000 | -50.9% |
| 93 | Computers, optical readers | $40,806,000 | +9.7% |
| 94 | Dairy machinery including milking machines | $49,785,000 | -12.5% |
| 95 | Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (plated/coated) | $50,594,000 | -16.4% |
| 96 | Automobile parts/accessories | $39,295,000 | +6.5% |
| 97 | Electrical machinery | $46,722,000 | -10.9% |
| 98 | Aluminum containers | $28,792,000 | +41.6% |
| 99 | Other prepared/preserved vegetables (non-frozen) | $44,026,000 | -10.6% |
| 100 | Machinery parts | $35,435,000 | +10.9% |
These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$36 billion or 90.4% by value for all products exported from New Zealand during 2023.
In macroeconomic terms, New Zealand’s total exported goods represent 14.3% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($279.2 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 14.3% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 16.9% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for New Zealand’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. New Zealand’s unemployment rate averaged 3.799% for 2023, up from the average 3.3% jobless rate one year earlier according to the International Monetary Fund.
See also New Zealand’s Top Trading Partners, New Zealand’s Top 10 Imports and Top Oceanian Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World FactbookCountry Profiles. Accessed on March 20, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on March 20, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 20, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 20, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 20, 2024
Richest Country Reports, Key Statistics Powering Global Wealth. Accessed on March 20, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on March 20, 2024
Wikipedia, List of companies of New Zealand. Accessed on March 20, 2024
Wikipedia, NZX 50 Index. Accessed on March 20, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on March 20, 2024