Manufacturing activity rose 3.1% in the December quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand.
"This follows a fall of 1.7% in the September 2009 quarter, when a nine-year low was reached," says business statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver.
Eleven of the 15 industries recorded rises for the December 2009 quarter, including a 4.6% jump for meat and dairy manufacturing.
Other food was up 4.6% and structural, sheet, and fabricated metal products increased 7.9%, but basic metals dropped 18.5%.
Seasonally adjusted sales values rose by 0.7% or $139 million in the December quarter, the first rise for four quarters, thanks to the food and metal sectors.
Statistics New Zealand says the biggest falls were in basic metal and meat and dairy.
The rise in the value of sales for the quarter is smaller than that for the volume because of price decreases.
