Trade (New Zealand)

Where can I find information about trade in New Zealand?

(Years 7-10)

Colour photo of a large container ship loaded with shipping containers sitting by a dock. — Image: MOL Destiny Container Ship by Bernard Spragg on Flickr.

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Introduction

New Zealand is far away from export markets and this has made trading an important part of our economy. In early colonial days, New Zealand exported goods like seal oil, timber and flax. Today New Zealand exports a whole range of things to the world.

Over the years the way that we trade has changed, with lots of international trade agreements being signed between countries.

Historical trade

Have a look at these websites to find out about trading in New Zealand history and how it has changed today.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about Aotearoa New Zealand. Here you will find the history of Māori trade before the arrival of Europeans, how colonisation changed trade and the role of government in controlling trade today.

Try searching for 'Māori trade' to find articles on the early flax and timber trades, and a page about Early trade with Pākeha.
A search for 'overseas trade' will bring up the section called Overseas trade policy which covers the history of New Zealand trade after 1840.

Tips: Search words, or keywords, are the most important words in our question. Usually it’s better to leave out small words like ‘the’, ‘a’ and ‘of’ and just choose the main ones, eg trade. We can always change our keywords or add more if we need to.

NZ History

NZ History is another great government owned website for information about Aotearoa New Zealand. It has the history of sealing and whaling — one of the earliest industries in New Zealand. It also has the history of container shipping that changed the method of transporting goods to and from our country.

From the homepage, choose Culture and Society.
Next, under the heading Pre-1840 contact, choose the link Sealers and whalers.
Also look under under the Transport heading for Container shipping to find how this changed shipping, the ports and the economy of New Zealand.

You can also search NZ History using keywords or search words.

Try the keywords 'international trade' to find out about CER — Closer Economic Relations agreement which was an important trade agreement between New Zealand and Australia.
Next try using the word 'export' to read about the first ever shipment of frozen meat from New Zealand.

Tips: Te Ara and NZ History belong to the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable. Both sites have .govt in the web address, meaning it's from a government organisation. They're also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.

Trade agreements

Trade has been an important part of New Zealand's relationship with other countries across the world. These websites will guide you to information for exporters, trade policy, free trade agreements and the World Trade Organisation.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara also has information about trading partners and agreements.

Open Topics and select Economy to find the entry on International economic relations.
Choose a page for a country or region, like Japan and New Zealand, to find out the trade situation and whether there have been trade agreements in the past.
You can also search for 'trade agreements' to find information about New Zealand's trade with different regions, including Britain, Europe, Australia and Latin America.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT)

MFAT is a New Zealand government department that offers advice and policies on matters of trade and foreign affairs.

Select the tab Trade.
Then explore links like How we help exporters, NZ trade policy, Free trade agreements and Our work with the WTO.

Imports, exports and the economy

New Zealand imports and exports a wide range of goods and services with countries around the world. Australia, United States of America, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and China are some of our main trading partners.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara has a good overview about how trading fits into our economy.

Look under Stories A-Z and choose E.
Select Economy.
Check out the different pages to find export information on Agricultural production (farming), Other primary production (forestry, fisheries, and coal) or Secondary production (manufacturing).
For an overview of New Zealand's trade with the world, look at External trade.

Statistics New Zealand

This is a great website for finding out statistical information about New Zealand. If we scroll down to the bottom of the page we can see that it is run by the New Zealand Government, so the information will be reliable and relevant.

Enter the search words 'Imports and exports'.
Then scroll down the page to the link on Imports and Exports.
Read this page about New Zealand's overseas trade of goods and services and how they are measured.

Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

MBIE is a government agency that provides advice, rules, laws and services to support and develop New Zealand's business in the world market.

Look under Business and employment, then Business to find the link on Trade and tariffs.
This page has guidelines on tariffs in New Zealand, trade barriers, trade agreements and partnerships, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines.