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NZ posts bigger-than-expected July trade deficit
Article – Businesswire
Aug. 30 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand posted a bigger-than-expected merchandise trade deficit last month as exports fell, stoking concern the key drivers of dairy products and forest products may be coming off the boil.
NZ posts bigger-than-expected July trade deficit as export growth slows
Aug. 30 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand posted a bigger-than-expected merchandise trade deficit last month as exports fell, stoking concern the key drivers of dairy products and forest products may be coming off the boil.
The trade deficit was $186 million in July, from a revised surplus of $214 million in June, according to Statistics New Zealand. Exports of $3.57 billion lagged behind the forecast $3.69 billion in a Reuters survey, while exports of $3.57 billion exceeded the forecast $3.7 billion.
While exports slipped back, the monthly value was still a record for July and the annual balance remained in surplus at $570 million, keeping the nation on track for the export-led recovery favoured by the Reserve Bank. The value of dairy products climbed 32% from the same month of 2009 while logs and wood were up 24%.
“The trade balance underwhelmed the market slightly, with growth in exports beginning to slow,” said Jane Turner, economist at ASB.
“Recent commodity price data point to prices in dairy beginning to ease of high levels, which will reduce support for the trade balance over the next year,” she said. “In addition, there have been tentative signs that forestry demand has eased (although prices remain firm), while manufacturing confidence has eased off recent highs.”
The New Zealand dollar traded recently at 71.14 U.S. cents, down from 71.29 cents immediately before the trade report. The trade-weighted index fell to 66.55 from 66.66.
Economists had expected a monthly trade deficit of $10 million, according to Reuters.
(BusinessDesk)
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
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Dairy productivity will continue to go down as long as chemical fertilizers are still being bombarded onto the already strained soils. They give the illusion of fertility, while killing the life in the soil, which is where the real fertility is.
When you use chemical fertilizers, you deplete the landbase required for food production, science shows this. The nitrates leach out into the rivers, making them unfit for human contact, let alone fish or ecosystem health.
As long as you’re covering the land in poison, you’re not going to see things improve.
Most civilizations that have ever collapsed have done so becuase they depleted their land base. Dairy farming is depleting New Zealand’s land base, and as long as it continues the way it’s going, the land will be useless.
It is time for a change to organic, nature based solutions, which if done right and thoughtfully, are scientifically proven to improve soil fertility over time, and increase yields.