Band 8+: The two line graphs below show New Zealand import figures from Australia and Japan in the years 1994 - 2004. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The two line graphs depict New Zealand imports from Australia and Japan over a ten-year period.

In general, imports were erratic throughout the period from 1994 to 2004. In detail, imports from Australia were higher at the beginning of the period, at around 4000 million from 1994 to 1995. Then, they soared from about 4000 to approximately 6500 million by 1996. However, after this sudden increase, they dropped to around 5400 million by 1997 and increased again to 5600 million by 1998. After that, they bottomed out at 3000 million by 1999. Nevertheless, they rocketed to around 7400 million by 2000 and shrunk drastically by 2002, at 5000 million. Then, imports from Australia increased gradually and then evened out at 8000 million by 2004.

Imports from Japan started at 3000 million in 1994 and then reached a high of approximately 6200 million in 1997. Next, they dropped by 1999, at slightly more than 4000 million, but quickly recovered from about 4000 million to 6000 million by 2000. However, they plunged by 2004, at 2000 million.