New Zealand Exporters Divert China-Bound Shipments as RBNZ Lifts Rate to 2.75%
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Sep 3
New Zealand Exporters Divert China-Bound Shipments as RBNZ Lifts Rate to 2.75%
1 articles · Updated · CNBC · Sep 3
Summary
New Zealand exporters are rerouting goods originally meant for China into other markets as demand from the country’s biggest trading partner cools, RBNZ Assistant Governor Karen Silk said.
China bought roughly a quarter of New Zealand’s total exports in the 12 months through July, and 2025 shipments there were nearly double those to the U.S. and Australia combined.
The shift reflects pressure from China’s multi-year-low second-quarter growth, weak domestic demand and a prolonged property slump, with higher commodity costs from Strait of Hormuz disruption also weighing on import appetite.
Silk said elevated global prices for commodities such as wheat still give New Zealand’s pasture-based farmers a relative cost advantage even as China-bound volumes soften.
The comments came a day after the RBNZ raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%—its second straight hike—and signaled another increase could come by year-end.