WELLINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand exports hit a new high in March, driven by higher exports of dairy, meat, and forestry products, especially to China, the country’s statistics department Stats NZ said on Friday.

In March 2019, the value of total goods exports rose 19 percent from March 2018 to reach 5.7 billion NZ dollars (3.8 billion U.S. dollars), which was a new record for any month. The previous high for monthly exports was in December 2017, Stats NZ said.

Of New Zealand’s main export markets, China had the largest increase, up 52 percent to 1.5 billion NZ dollars, international statistics manager Tehseen Islam said in a statement.

“Exports to China were the leading contributor to increases in several primary sector commodities including dairy products, beef, lamb, and forestry products,” Islam said.

In contrast, the value of total goods imports in March 2019 fell 3.5 percent to 4.8 billion NZ dollars in March 2019, it said, adding that petroleum and products lead the fall in imports.

The monthly trade balance was a surplus of 922 million NZ dollars, the highest since the April 2011 record goods trade surplus for all months, which was 1.2 billion NZ dollars, statistics show.

“Despite March 2019 being a strong month for exports, imports have been generally rising faster than exports in recent months,” Islam said.

The annual goods trade deficit remains at high levels, which was 5.6 billion NZ dollars in the March 2019 year, Islam said.