New Zealand's goods trade surplus drops in May

New Zealand's goods trade surplus in May fell slightly as dairy exports to China dropped, the government's statistics agency said Friday.

Total goods exports fell by 4.7 percent year on year to 4.4 billion NZ dollars (3.03 billion U.S. dollars) in May, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Milk powder, butter, and cheese exports led the fall, down by 28 percent, or 346 million NZ dollars (238.63 million U.S. dollars) .

"Despite dairy exports falling, they accounted for one fifth of total goods exports in May," international statistics manager Jason Attewell said in a statement.

"At its peak, dairy made up two-fifths of total goods exports."

The fall in dairy exports was led by a 37-percent drop in whole milk powder, with quantities down 6.9 percent.

Whole milk powder export quantities to China were down 60 percent year on year and values were also down, but values to other countries had remained fairly stable.

Goods imports fell 7 percent to 4 billion NZ dollars (2.76 billion U.S. dollars) in May, led by a 43-percent drop in the import values of crude oil.

The goods trade surplus in May was 350 million NZ dollars (241. 32 million U.S. dollars), or 8 percent of exports, slightly down from an average surplus of 8.6 percent over the previous five May months.

For the year ended May, the annual goods trade deficit was 2.6 billion NZ dollars (1.79 billion U.S. dollars). Endi