Imports into New Zealand from China in Q3 2026: data brief
Imports into New Zealand from China were US$3.49bn in Q3 2026, up 23.6% (US$664m) on Q3 2025.
Top 3 rising headings
- Electric accumulators, including separators therefor (HS 8507): US$66m, up 198.4% from US$22m
- Motor cars and other motor vehicles (HS 8703): US$342m, up 173.8% from US$125m
- Electric transformers, static converters (e.g. rectifiers) and… (HS 8504): US$51m, up 86.3% from US$27m
Top 3 falling headings
- Products containing tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, nicotine, or… (HS 2404): US$10m, down 33.1% from US$14m
- Fork-lift and other works trucks (HS 8427): US$13m, down 25.5% from US$17m
- Monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception… (HS 8528): US$25m, down 19.0% from US$31m
Headings (HS4) worth at least US$9m in both quarters.
Among these six headings, value per kg runs from US$7.49 for Fork-lift and other works trucks to US$151.11 for Products containing tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, nicotine, or… Why US$ per kg matters →
Cite as: Cambridge China Bridge, "China–New Zealand Trade Pulse", Q3 2026, https://camchinabridge.co.uk/china-trade-pulse/new-zealand/briefs/2026-q3/. Source: UN Comtrade Database; quarterly totals, changes and value per kg calculated by Cambridge China Bridge. Open data:https://github.com/bonoxu/camchinabridge-open-data
Method and sources
- Source: United Nations, UN Comtrade Database, monthly commodity trade (HS): reporter New Zealand, partner China, imports, through the UN Comtrade API. Totals across all customs procedures and transport modes.
- Values are UN Comtrade's primary value for imports, in US dollars as UN Comtrade publishes them (converted from the reporter's own currency by the United Nations). Quarterly totals, changes on a year earlier, rankings and value per kg are calculated by Cambridge China Bridge from the monthly figures. Chapters 98 and 99, reserved for national use, are excluded.
- Value per kg divides value by net weight, summed from the six-digit subheadings that carry a weight. It is shown only where those subheadings carry at least 90% of the line's value; some countries report few weights, so their pages show more dashes.
- Countries report to UN Comtrade some weeks or months after each month ends and may revise their figures; the page is rebuilt monthly and always shows the latest figures published.
Source: United Nations, UN Comtrade Database (cited as "UN Comtrade"). The figures on this page are quarterly totals, changes and rankings calculated from UN Comtrade's monthly data by Cambridge China Bridge; they are not endorsed by the United Nations. Journalists and researchers may quote them with a link to this page.