New Zealand Import Data: $50.46B in 2023, Down 8.01%

Marsden Point's Closure Made New Zealand a Fully Fuel-Importing Nation

New Zealand imported $50.46 billion worth of goods in 2023, down 8.01% from $54.85 billion in 2022. Mineral fuels led every category at 14.45% of the total, worth $7.29 billion, more than any other classification. Marsden Point, New Zealand's only oil refinery, closed in 2022. The country now imports 100% of its refined fuel from Asian refineries, with South Korea supplying roughly 48% and Singapore roughly 33% of fuel import value. That closure is a big reason South Korea and Singapore both rank unusually high on New Zealand's overall list of import partners, at 7.52% ($3.79 billion) and 5.51% ($2.78 billion) respectively, positions that trace substantially back to this single change in energy infrastructure. The former refinery site now functions as a storage depot supplying roughly 40% of New Zealand's fuel needs via pipeline, with the remainder arriving as fully refined product shipped in from overseas. That shift closed the loop on what had been decades of at least partial domestic refining. New Zealand's fuel security now depends entirely on shipping lanes and the refining capacity of a handful of Asian trading partners rather than any capability of its own. Whatever crude or partially refined product once flowed into Marsden Point has been replaced by finished fuel that requires no further processing before it reaches New Zealand pumps. A disruption at any one of those Asian refineries, or along the shipping routes connecting them to New Zealand, would now show up directly in fuel supply rather than being cushioned by domestic processing capacity.

Japan, Korea and Thailand Supply the Cars New Zealand Doesn't Make

Vehicles supplied 13.77% of imports, worth $6.95 billion, New Zealand's second-largest category, since the country has no domestic passenger vehicle manufacturing industry of its own. Japan, Thailand and South Korea have long been New Zealand's three largest new-vehicle suppliers, together accounting for more than two-thirds of new vehicle imports. Japan alone typically supplies roughly a third of that total on its own. That pattern lines up closely with where these three countries rank among New Zealand's overall import partners: Japan at 6.82% ($3.44 billion), South Korea at 7.52%, and Thailand at 3.67% ($1.85 billion). Machinery added a further 13.55% ($6.84 billion), and electrical machinery contributed 8.89% ($4.49 billion). Optical, photographic and measuring instruments supplied 3.32% ($1.68 billion), and plastics added 3.08% ($1.56 billion).

Pharmaceutical products contributed 2.96% ($1.49 billion), and aircraft, spacecraft and parts supplied 2.08% ($1.05 billion). Air New Zealand announced a NZ$3.5 billion fleet investment in 2023, including eight Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and five Airbus A320neo jets, with a 777-300ER also under negotiation. A purchase of that size can move a small country's import figures noticeably in any given year. A national carrier's fleet order arrives as a handful of very large transactions rather than the steady drip of ordinary consumer trade. Food industry residues and prepared animal fodder added 1.76% ($886 million), and iron and steel articles closed out the top ten at 1.72% ($867 million), inputs for the same construction and manufacturing activity that also drives New Zealand's machinery and vehicle imports.

China Supplies a Fifth of Everything New Zealand Buys

China supplied 20.73% of New Zealand's imports in 2023, worth $10.46 billion, more than any other country, spanning everything from electronics to machinery and general consumer goods. Australia followed at 10.81% ($5.45 billion), underpinned by the same Closer Economic Relations agreement covered in the companion export data for this country. The USA supplied 9.71% ($4.90 billion). Germany contributed 4.43% ($2.24 billion), and Malaysia added 4.02% ($2.03 billion). The United Kingdom rounded out the top ten at 2.64% ($1.33 billion). Together, China, Australia and the USA made up 41.25% of total import value. That is a less concentrated top three than the one seen on New Zealand's export side. It reflects a broader spread of countries supplying everyday manufactured goods rather than a handful of commodity buyers.

Import totals swung sharply over the past five years. The total stood at $42.27 billion in 2019, dropped to $36.55 billion in 2020 as the pandemic disrupted global trade, then rebounded to $49.22 billion in 2021 and $54.85 billion in 2022, before easing back to $50.46 billion in 2023. That pullback still left import totals well above where they stood before the pandemic began back in 2019.