New Zealand’s fuel stocks remain stable for now. MBIE’s latest update says the country has 62.6 days of petrol, 51.7 days of diesel and 53.5 days of jet fuel available. The ministry says there is no need for people to change how they buy fuel.
The stock figure sits alongside a limited storage model. MBIE says importers must hold minimum stock levels of 28 days of petrol, 21 days of diesel and 24 days of jet fuel, either onshore or within New Zealand’s EEZ. It also says New Zealand does not have large storage capacity beyond those minimum stockholding requirements and relies on regular shipments to keep supply moving.
New Zealand now depends on imported refined fuel. MBIE’s Fuel Security Study says 70 percent of the country’s fuel supply came from Singapore and South Korea in 2023. The study says New Zealand sits at the end of shipping routes and is particularly vulnerable to disruption in South-East and East Asia.
The route risk sits further up the chain. Reuters reported on 9 April that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained below 10 percent of normal. Singapore said more than half of its crude oil imports come from the Middle East. Gulf disruption does not stop all supply into Singapore or South Korea, but it hits a large part of the crude flow feeding the refineries New Zealand relies on.
New Zealand burns through fuel quickly. MBIE’s oil statistics say Channel Infrastructure at Marsden Point handles 3 to 3.5 billion litres of transport fuels a year, or about 40 percent of national demand. That points to total national demand of about 7.5 to 8.75 billion litres a year, roughly 20 to 24 million litres a day.
The response framework is already in place. The Government’s Fuel Response Plan puts hospitals, emergency services, courts, corrections, lifeline utilities and defence in Band A. Food supply, primary production, and road freight for supermarket and grocery supply chains sit in Band B. If supply tightens, the plan allows purchasing limits and priority allocation rather than equal access for all users.
Food supply remains stable at present. Foodstuffs said in March that stores were operating as usual and shelves were well stocked. The company also said fuel and freight costs were back under pressure. NEMA’s Catastrophic Event Handbook says the main supermarket chains have about a week’s worth of food supply available at any one time, which reflects retail turnover rather than total national food production.
Imported pantry staples remain part of the exposure. Rice imports come mainly from Australia, Thailand, India, Vietnam and Cambodia. Sugar sold in New Zealand is tied to imported raw sugar refined at Chelsea, which says its supply comes from Australia, Thailand, South Africa and South America. MPI says wheat flour is milled domestically to meet local market demand and relatively little flour is imported.
MBIE’s current line remains unchanged. Fuel supply is stable and stocks are sufficient. The pressure point sits in the weeks ahead if shipping through Hormuz stays restricted and Asian refining supply remains under strain. The first signs would be higher fuel prices, tighter freight costs and thinner stock in some imported grocery lines, before any broad retail fuel shortage appears.
