New Zealand manufacturing, wholesale trade sales rebound in September quarter from COVID impact
Source: Xinhua | 2020-12-10
Manufacturing sales volumes and wholesale trade sales values of New Zealand rose to record levels for any September quarter, bouncing back from the impact of COVID-19, the country's statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
"In June, these industries were heavily impacted by COVID-19. However, in September, levels have rebounded and are in fact higher than any other September quarter on record," business insights manager Sue Chapman said in a statement.
"This could be due to a rise in demand and more stability in these industries," Chapman said.
Total wholesale trade sales rose to 29.8 billion NZ dollars (21 billion U.S. dollars), up 5.8 percent on September last year. This reflected a sharp rebound from low levels in the June quarter, when most businesses shut temporarily during the COVID-19 lockdown, she said.
"Producers and distributors picked up again in the September quarter with higher sales of essentials such as food and medicines," Chapman said.
This is the highest September quarter on record and the second highest value of all quarters, just below the peak December 2019 quarter. Quarterly wholesale trade sales data started 25 years ago and is not adjusted for price changes, she said.
Grocery, liquor, and tobacco wholesaling had the largest industry value increase in the September quarter, up 7.6 percent on the same period last year to 9.5 billion NZ dollars, statistics showed.
The country's largest city, Auckland, briefly returned to COVID-19 alert level 3 in mid-August due to community spread of the virus. However, supermarkets, pharmacies, and medical centers remained open in the quarter as essential services and demand for these products and services lifted, Chapman said.
Manufacturing sales volumes in the September 2020 quarter rose to the highest September quarter level on record, springing back from a COVID-19-related downturn earlier in the year, she said.
Total manufacturing sales volumes rose to 25 billion NZ dollars, up 3.1 percent on the September 2019 quarter, according to Stats NZ. The volumes are calculated by removing the effect of the price changes from sales values.
"The rise in manufacturing sales this quarter comes after substantial falls in the June quarter, due to COVID-19's impact on businesses making products that range from food and beverages to refined petrol," Chapman said.
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