New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.9 percent in the quarter to the end of June, following an identical rise in the March quarter, the government statistics agency said Thursday.

"Growth this quarter is being driven by strong domestic and export demand," Statistics New Zealand national accounts senior manager Gary Dunnet said in a statement.

"Household spending was up 1.9 percent, with Kiwis spending more on going away, eating out, and furnishing their houses."

Strong international demand saw exports increase 4 percent, with exports of goods posting its biggest quarterly increase in nearly 20 years, driven by exports of dairy products, meat and fruit.

"Eleven of the 16 industries were up this quarter, with construction once again providing a boost to production," Dunnet said.

GDP per capita increased 0.5 percent this quarter, following a 0.3-percent increase in the March quarter.

Annual GDP growth for the year ended June increased 2.8 percent with the size of the economy hitting 252 billion NZ dollars (183.33 billion U.S. dollars).

Finance Minister Bill English welcomed the figures, saying they showed the third highest growth rate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development group of developed nations.

"While this result is solid and the outlook is relatively positive, there are many risks around and we cannot afford to take our current economic performance for granted," English said in a statement.

However, the main opposition Labour Party said that on a per-person basis, the economy was "barely moving" because the economy was being propped up by immigration.

"We have seen enormous population growth in New Zealand in the last year and that generates economic activity," Labour finance spokesman Grant Robertson said in a statement.

"But what these numbers show is that we are not getting the increased economic value from that to mean real sustainable growth. This adds further to the need to review and adjust immigration policy to ensure it contributes to real growth."

Source : XINHUA