Wholesale Trade Steady In The December Quarter

Wholesale trade sales rose 0.3 percent in the December 2019 quarter, Stats NZ said today.

Wholesale trade sales had modest increases for the past five quarters, when adjusted for seasonal effects.

“Results across the six wholesale industries were mixed in the December 2019 quarter, with two falls offset by four rises,” business statistics manager Geraldine Duoba said.

The largest industry increase was the basic materials industry, up $79 million (1.3 percent), when adjusted for seasonal effects. This industry includes hardware goods, agricultural and farm products, metal and chemical, petroleum, and timber wholesaling.

The largest industry fall was in grocery, liquor, and tobacco wholesale sales, which fell 0.8 percent ($69 million) in the December 2019 quarter, following a 1.2 percent ($110 million) fall in the September 2019 quarter. This is the first time since 2016 that this industry has shown two consecutive quarterly drops.

“The fall in grocery, liquor, and tobacco wholesaling coincided with reduced sales for fruit exporters in the September and December quarters, following bumper export sales in the June 2019 quarter,” Ms Duoba said.

Overseas merchandise trade: December 2019

shows fruit exports fell 11 percent in value, and 16 percent in quantity, when seasonally adjusted.

The actual value of total wholesale trade sales was $29.8 billion in the December 2019 quarter, up $567 million (1.9 percent) from the December 2018 quarter.

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