WELLINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand exporters continued the expansionary trend by signing new deals despite global headwinds, Minister for Trade and Export Growth and Economic Development David Parker said on Thursday after the release of an annual trade report.

With government support, New Zealand exporters are proving that trade can be expanded even while there is unpredictability and volatility in the international markets, Parker said in a statement.

The report, issued by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the government's international business development agency, was submitted to a parliamentary select committee.

It said 5,500 of the 12,000 exporters in New Zealand are customers of NZTE, including a high-focus portfolio of 700 companies who grew their international revenue by around 3.5 billion NZ dollars (2.4 billion U.S. dollars).

The annual value of new trade deals was 1.7 billion NZ dollars (1.1 billion U.S. dollars), compared to a target of 1.5 billion NZ dollars (1 billion U.S. dollars), the report showed, adding four international regions increased the value of export deals year-on-year, with East Asia returning an additional 23 percent and the Australia Pacific region up 15 percent.

The government also encouraged NZTE to support a diversified global footprint of services, to hedge against market risk and volatility, Parker said.