NZ Aug trade deficit rises on plane imports; meat drives export growth

NZ Aug trade deficit rises on plane imports; meat drives export growth
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth Sept. 24 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's trade deficit was bigger than expected in August as one-off imports of aircraft widened the shortfall, even as international meat sales drove export growth to a record for the month. The trade deficit widened to $1.04 billion in August from a shortfall of $465 million a year earlier, as aircraft purchases totalling $230 million lifted the value of imports 19 percent to $4.77 billion, according to Statistics New Zealand. That outpaced the 4.4 percent growth in exports to $3.73 billion,...