increase font size
The quarterly GDP fall is the largest recorded since the current series began in 1987.
Agriculture has kept losses to a minimum as New Zealand reported its largest ever GDP drop on record.
Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 12.2% in the June 2020 quarter, Stats NZ announced this morning.
The quarterly fall is the largest recorded since the current series began in 1987.
The fall is comparable to many other countries amid the pandemic; the GDP in the same quarter in Australia fell 7%, Canada 11.5%, Japan 7.9%, the United Kingdom 20.4%, and 9.1% in the United States.
Some industries were more affected than others by the border closure and alert levels restrictions in place during the June quarter.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded the smallest drop, falling just 2.2%.
Retail trade and accommodation and transport, postal, and warehousing recorded the largest drops, falling 25.2% and 38.7% respectively.
Financial and insurance services was the only industry that grew, with a 0.7% increase.
“Industries like retail, accommodation and restaurants, and transport saw significant declines in production because they were most directly affected by the international travel ban and strict nationwide lockdown,” said national accounts senior manager Paul Pascoe.
New Zealand started the June 2020 quarter in alert level 4 lockdown, reaching alert level 1 on 8 June 2020.
“While level 4 restrictions were in place for most of April, the gradual return to level 1 over the course of the quarter meant that businesses were able to open up again and many people returned to places of work,” said Pascoe.
Annually, GDP fell by 2.0%. This is the first annual decline since the March 2010 quarter.
OPINION: Welcome to the second annual NZ Dairy Expo at Matamata – an event created to bring together the best of the New Zealand dairy industry in a focused, grassroots environment where dairy farmers and rural professionals can meet, talk, compare products, and make smart decisions for their farms.
According to new figures from Stats NZ, kiwifruit exports were valued at $3.1 billion in the year ended August 2024.
It's a bloody tough year for sheep farmers, but the worst may be over, and the future looks optimistic.
Spring is the perfect time to re-set your eating habits and colourful in-season fruit and vegetables are the key to success, offering unbeatable value.
One of the country’s two largest supermarket chains is reporting that for the first time since the disruption of Covid, they have largely full supply on almost all fruit and vegetables grown locally.
Commodity prices and interest rates play a huge role in shaping farmer confidence, but these factors are beyond their control, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
DairyNZ is supporting a proposed new learning model for apprenticeships and traineeships that would see training, education, and pastoral care delivered together to provide the best chance of success.
Two agritech companies have joined forces to help eliminate manual entry and save farmer time.
The recent squabble between the Cook Islands and NZ over their deal with China has added a new element of tension in the relationship between China and NZ.
The world is now amid potentially one of the most disruptive periods in world trade for a very long time.
Former Westland Milk boss Richard Wyeth is taking over as chief executive of Canterbury milk processor Synlait from May 19.
OPINION: Henry Dimbleby, author of the UK's Food Strategy, recently told the BBC: "Meat production is about 85% of our…
OPINION: For the last few weeks, we've witnessed a parade of complaints about New Zealand's school lunch program: 'It's arriving…
