Region lagging in growth stakes

The Hawke's Bay economy has grown 12.9 per cent since 2007 - a rate just over half the national figure of 24.5 per cent.

And Statistics New Zealand also says the region suffered one of the largest decreases in regional GDP during the year to the end of March 2013.

The 2007 closure of British American Tobacco's Rothmans factory hit the regional economy hard, but its share of national GDP has been steady since then, although specific sectors have had their ups and downs.

Between 2007 and 2011, the economy expanded largely thanks to the health care and social assistance and agriculture industries, partly offset by a decline in manufacturing.

In 2012, regional GDP increased due to sheep and beef farming and, to a lesser extent, horticulture.

Last year, it fell, reflecting a decline in the drought-affected agriculture industry.

In regional GDP figures released yesterday, Statistics NZ says manufacturing is Hawke's Bay's largest contributor to GDP, generating $929 million of value in 2011 (the most recent year for which sector figures are available).

This was followed by agriculture ($569 million) and health care and social assistance ($464 million).

While still holding the top spot, the manufacturing sector's contribution to the region's GDP fell 17 per cent between 2007 and 2011.

Over the same period, agriculture's contribution grew 29.3 per cent and health care and social assistance was up 48.4 per cent.

For the year to the end of March 2013, decreases in GDP were recorded in eight of the country's 15 regions, with Hawke's Bay, Gisborne and the West Coast showing the largest decreases.

The falls were a result of fluctuations in commodity prices and the 2012/13 drought, which was the worst since 1946, Statistics NZ said.

Regional GDP figures showed the largest increases were in Canterbury (6 per cent), Auckland (3.3 per cent), Wellington (1.5 per cent), and Otago (1.5 per cent).

The national increase was 2 per cent.