Lockwood Smith

National Trade Spokesperson

6th November 2002

Tail wind dies in export sales

National's Trade Spokesperson, Lockwood Smith, says the latest trade figures show the wind has died from our export sales.

"Exports were down 5.4% in the September quarter. But that's not the serious concern as exports can fluctuate from one quarter to the next for a range of reasons.

"The big worry is that compared with the September quarter 2001, exports are down more than 8%.

"It's the year on year data that really confirms the trend. Our exports for the year ended September 2002 were down almost 4% compared with our exports for the previous year.

"The high commodity prices in the first two years of this Labour Government saw exports increase by approximately 20% each year. That gave the Government a strong economic tail wind that is now dying.

"Sure, high levels of immigration are now helping maintain economic growth. But we know that without the exports to support that growth our trade deficit will inevitably widen. The latest trade stats confirm that with a decline of more than $1.4 billion in our trade balance compared with the previous year", concluded Dr Smith.

Ends

© Scoop Media