New Zealand has posted its third straight monthly trade surplus, as sales of dairy products drive record exports to China.
The trade surplus was $NZ306 million ($A286.40 million) in January, a record for the month of January, from a revised $NZ493m in December, according to Statistics New Zealand.
Exports to China jumped by $NZ590m, or 92 per cent, to $NZ1.2b in January, led by shipments of whole milk powder.
China bought 46 per cent of all milk powder, butter and cheese New Zealand sent overseas in January and it accounted for 30 per cent of total exports, up from 19 per cent in the same month last year.
At the same time, shipments to Australia fell by $NZ80m, or 13 per cent, to $NZ556m and New Zealand's closest market took 14 per cent of total exports, down from 19 per cent a year ago.
The changing status of China versus Australia was also reflected in imports. New Zealand imports from China rose by $NZ41m, or 6.5 per cent, to $NZ671m last month, while imports from Australia fell by $NZ111m, or 22 per cent, to $NZ393m.
"The strength of Chinese demand for New Zealand exports continues to be a feature of trade data," said Anne Boniface, senior economist at Westpac.
Exports of dairy products jumped about 56 per cent to $NZ1.69b, compared to January 2013, and rose about 25 per cent to $NZ14b in the 12 months ended Jan 31.
Total exports rose 22 per cent to $NZ4.08b in January and climbed 6.8 per cent to $NZ48.8b in the year.
New Zealand's imports rose a more modest 3.5 per cent to $NZ3.77b in January from the same month of 2013 and climbed 3.2 per cent to $NZ48.5b in the year.
