While dairy volumes were strong in the quarter, actual dairy prices fell 7.5 percent.
Stats NZ said that means dairy values rose only 9.5 percent, seasonally adjusted.
Dairy products are New Zealand’s top goods export, accounting for more than a quarter of the value of all goods exported in the March quarter.
Total export volumes rose 5.0 percent in the March 2019 quarter, while total export prices fell 2.6 percent, both movements strongly influenced by dairy.
Stats NZ business prices delivery manager Sarah Johnson said total export volumes are at their highest level since the series began in 1990, reflecting higher dairy volumes in the March quarter, after adjusting for seasonal effects.
“The previous peak in dairy export volumes was in the September 2012 quarter,” she said.
“Dairy export prices have fallen for the second quarter in a row, likely reflecting the falling global dairy auction prices seen between June and November 2018,” said Johnson.
She said there was a lag between auction prices and the time dairy products cross the wharf for export.