Seafood stats slammed

By Libby Middlebrook

Seafood industry leaders are spitting tacks over the latest GDP figures released by Statistics New Zealand.

Seafood Industry Council spokesperson Alastair Macfarlane said in a statement yesterday that Statistics NZ's latest GDP figures had painted a false picture of seafood exports by focusing on a small drop in volume.

Statistics NZ said the volume of seafood exports for the June quarter had dropped by 14.4 per cent compared to the same business quarter in 1998, costing the industry $43 million.

"Most of the drop can be attributed to squid, which is a fishery that can fluctuate considerably from season to season. The value of our seafood exports overall has continued to rise significantly," said Mr Macfarlane.

New Zealand Hoki Co chairman Ross Tocker said industry leaders were angry that Statistics NZ had put a slant on the figures by not using enough information to calculate export figures or outlining the seasonal differences.

"The hoki season is mainly between June and August. We're expecting to have huge growth in our export market this year."

But Statistics NZ senior economic statistician Kathy Connolly ruled out any miscalculation of the figures for the June quarter.

She said the organisation had taken into account seasonal fluctuations within the seafood industry and adjusted the figures. The results for seafood exports were also compiled from trade data that had been completed by New Zealand seafood companies. "We've used the same methodology that we've always used," she said.

About 90 per cent of New Zealand seafood production is exported, with earnings of $1.2 billion in 1998. The Seafood Industry Council expects the industry to generate more than $1.3 billion in export returns by December.