Economy Of New Zealand

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Traditionally, New Zealand's economy was built upon on a narrow range of primary ... New Zealand's economy has traditionally been based on a foundation of exports ...
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The Economy of New Zealand is a small but prosperous free market economy, which is greatly dependent on international trade, mainly with Australia, the United States of America and Japan.

Economic profile This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of New Zealand at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in millions of New Zealand Dollars.{| class="wikitable"|-! Year || Gross Domestic Product || US Dollar Exchange || Inflation Index (2000=100)|-| 1980 || 22,976 || 1.02 New Zealand Dollars || 30|-| 1985 || 45,003 || 2.00 New Zealand Dollars || 53|-| 1990 || 73,745 || 1.67 New Zealand Dollars || 84|-| 1995 || 91,881 || 1.52 New Zealand Dollars || 93|-| 2000 || 114,563 || 2.18 New Zealand Dollars || 100|-| 2005 || 154,108 || 1.41 New Zealand Dollars || 113|}

For purchasing power parity comparisons, the US Dollar is exchanged at 1.51 New Zealand Dollars.

Traditionally, New Zealand's economy was built upon on a narrow range of primary products, such as wool, meat and dairy products. Due to the high demand for these products - such as the New Zealand wool boom of 1951 - New Zealand enjoyed high standards of living. However, commodity prices for these exports declined, and New Zealand lost its preferential trading position with the United Kingdom in 1973, due to the latter joining the European Economic Community.

Since 1984, the government of New Zealand has accomplished major economic restructuring, moving an agrarian economics dependent on concessionary British market access toward a more industrialised, free market economy that can compete globally. This growth has boosted real incomes, broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. Inflation remains among the lowest in the industrial world. Per capita gross domestic product has been moving up toward the levels of the big West European economies. New Zealand's heavy dependence on trade leaves its growth prospects vulnerable to economic performance in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

New Zealand's economy has traditionally been based on a foundation of exports from its very efficient agricultural system. Leading agricultural exports include meat, dairy products, forest products, fruit and vegetables, fish, and wool. New Zealand was a direct beneficiary of many of the reforms achieved under the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, with agriculture in general and the dairy sector in particular enjoying many new trade opportunities in the long term. The country has substantial hydroelectric power and sizable reserves of natural gas, much of which is exploited due primarily to major Keynesian import substitution-oriented Heavy industry (See Think Big). Leading manufacturing sectors are food processing, metal fabrication, and wood and paper products. Some manufacturing industries, many of which had only been established in a climate of import substitution with high tariffs and subsidies, such as car assembly, have completely disappeared, and manufacturing's importance in the economy is in a general decline.

The New Zealand economy has recently been perceived as successful. However, the generally positive outlook includes some challenges. New Zealand income levels, which used to be above much of Western Europe prior to the deep crisis of the 1970s, have never recovered in relative terms. The New Zealand GDP per capita is for instance less than that of Spain and about 60 % that of the United States. Income inequality has increased greatly, implying that significant portions of the population have quite modest incomes. Further, New Zealand has a very large current account deficit of 8-9% of GDP. Foreign currency earnings from agricultural exports and tourism cannot nearly cover the imports of advanced manufactured goods required to sustain the New Zealand economy.

Microeconomic reform Since 1984, government subsidies including those for agriculture have been eliminated; import regulations have been liberalised; exchange rates have been freely floated; controls on interest rates, wages, and prices have been removed; and marginal rates of taxation reduced. Tight monetary policy and major efforts to reduce the government budget deficit brought the inflation rate down from an annual rate of more than 18% in 1987. The restructuring and sale of government-owned enterprises in the 1980s and 1990s reduced government's role in the economy and permitted the retirement of some public debt, but simultaneously massively increased the necessity for greater welfare state and has led to considerably higher rates of unemployment than were standard in New Zealand in earlier decades. However, unemployment in New Zealand is again low, hovering around 3.5% to 4%.

Economic growth, which had slowed in 1997 and 1998 due to the negative effects of the Asian financial crisis and two successive years of drought, rebounded in 1999. A low New Zealand dollar, favourable weather, and high commodity prices boosted exports, and the economy is estimated to have grown by 2.5% in 2000. Growth resumed at a higher level from 2001 onwards due primarily to the lower value of the New Zealand dollar which made exports more competitive. The return of substantial economic growth led the unemployment rate to drop from 7.8% in 1999 to 3.4% in late 2005, the lowest rate in nearly 20 years. The large current account deficit, which stood at more than 6.5% of GDP in 2000, has been a constant source of concern for New Zealand policymakers and has now hit 9% to date as of March 2006. The rebound in the export sector is expected to help narrow the deficit to lower levels, but the budget deficit continues to increase as of 2005, especially due to increases in the value of the New Zealand dollar.

Economic relations with trading partners New Zealand's economy has been helped by strong economic relations with Australia. Australia and New Zealand are partners in "Closer Economic Relations" (CER) , which allows for free trade in goods and most services. Since 1990, CER has created a single market of more than 22 million people, and this has provided new opportunities for New Zealand exporters. Australia is now the destination of 19% of New Zealand's exports, compared to 14% in 1983. Both sides also have agreed to consider extending CER to product standardization and taxation policy. New Zealand initiated a free trade agreement with Singapore in September 2000 which was extended in 2005 to include Chile and Brunei and is now known as the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership. New Zealand is seeking other bilateral/regional trade agreements in the Pacific area.

U.S. goods and services have been competitive in New Zealand, though the strong U.S. dollar has created challenges for U.S. exporters in 2001. The market-led economy offers many opportunities for U.S. exporters and investors. Investment opportunities exist in chemicals, food preparation, finance, tourism, and forest products, as well as in franchising. The best sales prospects are for medical equipment, information technology, and consumer goods. On the agricultural side, the best prospects are for fresh fruit, snack foods, specialised grocery items (eg. organic foods), and soybean meal. A number of U.S. companies have subsidiary branches in New Zealand. Many operate through local agents, with some joint venture associations. The American Chamber of Commerce is active in New Zealand, with its main office in Auckland, New Zealand and a branch committee in Wellington.

New Zealand welcomes and encourages foreign investment without discrimination. The Overseas Investment Commission (OIC) must give consent to foreign investments that would control 25% or more of businesses or property worth more than NZ$50 million. Restrictions and approval requirements also apply to certain investments in land and in the commercial fishing industry. In practice, OIC approval requirements have not hindered U.S. investment. OIC consent is based on a national interest determination, but no performance requirements are attached to FDI after consent is given. Full remittance of profits and capital is permitted through normal banking channels.

Other economic indicators Industrial Production Growth Rate: 5.9% (2004)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

Lowest 10%: 0.3%
Highest 10%: 29.8% (1991)

Agriculture - Products: wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish

Exports - commodities: dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics

Electricity:

Electricity - consumption: 34.88 TWh (2001)
Electricity - production: 38.39 TWh (2004)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - Production by source:

Fossil Fuel: 31.6%
Hydro: 57.8%
Nuclear: 0%
Other: 10.7% (2001)

Oil:

Oil - production: 42,160 barrel/day (6,703 m³/d) 2001
Oil - consumption: 132,700 barrel/day (21,100 m³/d) 2001
Oil - exports: 30,220 barrel/day (4,800 m³/d) 2001
Oil - imports: 119,700 barrel/day (19,000 m³/d) 2001
Oil - proved reserves: 89.62 million barrel (14,250,000 m³) January 2002

Exchange rates:
New Zealand Dollars (NZ$) per US$1 - 1.3869 (2005), 1.5248 (2004), 1.9071 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997), 1.4543 (1996), 1.5235 (1995)

References

Harcourt, T. (2005). Closer Economic Relations. Australian Trade Commission Website