Māori authority exports drop 16 per cent in September quarter

Māori authority exports were down in the September quarter, with milk powder, butter and cheese exports down 13 per cent. Photo / John Stone

Total goods exports for Māori authorities were down 16 per cent in the September quarter of 2023 compared to the September 2022 quarter, according to new data from Stats NZ.

Goods exports by Māori authorities were down $28 million to $150m, with milk powder, butter and cheese exports falling 13 per cent on the previous period to $36m.

Stats NZ’s tatauranga umanga Māori (Statistics on Māori businesses) for the September 2023 quarter presents information on one subset of Māori businesses that contribute to the country’s economy and doesn’t cover all Māori businesses in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Māori authorities are businesses that receive, manage and/or administer assets held in common ownership by iwi and Māori.

Exports of all other goods, including kaimoana, meat, machinery, and wine were down 17 per cent at $114m.

Total value of sales by Māori authorities in the September quarter of 2023 was up 14 per cent at $1.1 billion

Purchases were also up 6.6 per cent, coming in at $809m, while exports were down 16 per cent at $150m worth of goods.

Earnings by Māori authority employees rose 8.2 per cent to $213m, but employees in the goods-producing sector experienced a $4.5m (22 per cent) drop in earnings.

However, employees in services and primary industries had 9.8 per cent and 16 per cent lifts respectively, coming in at $12m and $8.3m in earnings.

The majority of sales and purchases were in primary industries, with $405m in sales and $311m in purchases, followed by goods-producing industries, which had $180m in sales and $148m in purchases.

Services industries in the September quarter had $510m in sales and $350m in purchases.

Primary industries involved farming, forestry, fishing and mining businesses.

Goods-producing industries included manufacturing, utilities such as electricity, gas, water and waste services, and construction.

Services industries included healthcare and social assistance, real estate, travel agencies and management service businesses.

Employment

The total number of jobs filled for Māori authorities was up 2 per cent at 11,620..

Goods-producing industries dropped 33 per cent in jobs (down 390 jobs), with service industry jobs also dropping 2.8 per cent (down 210 jobs).

Primary industries experienced a jump in jobs, with 410 more jobs (up 14 per cent).

The number of filled jobs for women was up 1.1 per cent at 6410 jobs, while men experienced a 3.1 per cent rise in employment at 5,220 jobs.

While women experienced a bigger jump in total earnings (up 8.7 per cent at $104m), total earnings for men came in at $108m (up 7.6 per cent).

Alka Prasad is an Auckland-based business reporter covering small business and retail.