WELLINGTON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Higher grocery sales and fruit exports helped lift overall wholesale trade values in the September 2017 quarter, which was partly offset by vehicle sales dipping from recent high levels, New Zealand's statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.
Total wholesale trade sales value rose 1.1 percent in the September 2017 quarter, after rising 1.6 percent in the June 2017 quarter. This was the sixth consecutive quarterly rise, Stats NZ said.
The largest industry increase was in grocery, liquor, and tobacco wholesaling, up 2.8 percent from the June 2017 quarter, it said.
"The increase in this industry was mainly driven by fruit exports and grocery wholesaling," wholesale trade manager Sue Chapman said in a statement.
Basic materials saw the second-largest rise of any industry, up 3.4 percent, Chapman said, adding that basic materials include other agricultural products, hardware goods, timber, and metal, mineral, and chemical wholesaling.
Wholesale sales values for motor vehicles and parts, including cars and trucks, fell 3.6 percent, she said, adding that sales values for this industry were at high levels in recent quarters.
"Although the sales fell in motor vehicle and parts wholesaling, stocks continued to build up in the September quarter," Chapman said.
The retail trade survey for the September 2017 quarter showed that motor vehicles and parts sales also dipped slightly from previous quarters, she said.
The actual value of wholesale trade sales was 25.5 billion NZ dollars (17.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the latest quarter, up 6.2 percent from the September 2016 quarter, she added.
