New Zealand bought significantly more from China over the year to September, lifting imports to NZ$21.4 billion while sales to China reached NZ$20.6 billion. That gap added up to a NZ$893 million deficit. One month stood out too: imports in September alone topped NZ$2 billion, the highest on record for any month.
Before that came a narrower gap - about NZ$170 million - over the year to June, marking the first annual deficit with China since 2017. China remains New Zealand's largest customer, taking about 24% of exports, led by dairy, logs and fruit.
Shoppers have been buying more electric vehicles as gasoline costs rise amid the Middle East crisis, and demand has stayed firm for smartphones, flat screen TVs and other electronics and machinery even as the local economy slows. EV imports from China reached NZ$865 million in the year to September, up from NZ$319 million a year earlier. All car imports from China, including used models, more than doubled to NZ$1.46 billion.
Electrical machinery was another big mover, with imports from China up 31% to NZ$4.5 billion over the year. Phones made up NZ$1.4 billion of that total. On the showroom floor, Motor Trade Association data show China's BYD Co. ranked fourth for new car sales in the nine months through September, with SAIC Motor Corp. fifth and Great Wall Motor Co. sixth.
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The bottom line: vehicles and electronics are pulling more of New Zealand's China import bill, nudging the trade balance deeper into the red after June's first deficit since 2017. For trade exposed names and sectors tied to consumer goods, autos and electronics, this mix shift is worth tracking alongside China's role as New Zealand's top export destination.
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