Comments attributed to Justine Gilliland, Venture Taranaki CE.

• Stats NZ have released Regional GDP data today. The data relates to YE March 2020 (i.e. pre COVID-19).
• Taranaki is back on top as number 1 for GDP per capita with a good growth rate of 5.1 percent in 2020. This was below the national average of 5.4 percent. Please see per capita animated graph for reference https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/5644576/.
• Taranaki’s economy is centred around three main industries – energy, food production/farming, and the manufacture of products from those primary sources. These industries make up 42.3 percent of the region’s GDP in 2019. Taranaki has had the highest GDP per capita from 2007 onward except in 2017 when Wellington was highest.
• In 2020, Taranaki’s 5.1 percent GDP increase was mainly driven by forestry, fishing, dairy, and energy, and placed us in good stead heading into the COVID-19 lockdown period and the rest of 2020.
• Taranaki has potentially not been as hard hit as some other regions, and against the New Zealand average, throughout COVID-19 based on indicators like retail stats and tourism numbers. Demand for quality industrial investment properties in Taranaki also signals as another positive indicator for the region. However, we will have a clearer picture of our position when we receive the Regional GDP figures for year-end March 2021 (which won’t be till March 2022).
• It is also useful to bear in mind other indicators are of importance, such as household income levels, retail spending, and child poverty rates.

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