New Zealand manufacturing sales edge down

New Zealand manufacturing sales dropped by 0.7 percent in the June quarter, led by a 1.4-percent fall in meat and dairy product manufacturing, the government statistics agency announced Monday.
"Meat and dairy manufacturing sales have edged down in the last two quarters following a large rise in the December 2013 quarter," Statistics New Zealand business indicators manager Neil Kelly said in a statement.
Another major drop was seen in chemical, polymer and rubber product manufacturing, which fell 3 percent, while petroleum and coal product manufacturing was up 2.4 percent.
The trend for the total manufacturing sales volume had flattened after recent rises.
The total value of manufacturing sales fell 1.9 percent to 481 million NZ dollars (399.9 million U.S. dollars), pulled down by a 5.7-percent, or 485 million NZ dollars (403.22 million U.S. dollars), fall in meat and dairy product manufacturing sales.