A leap in exports drove up sales by New Zealand manufacturers and exporters by 13.1 percent year on year in June, the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) announced Friday.

Export sales were up 14 percent over June 2011, while domestic sales rose by 12.5 percent, according to an NZMEA survey, which covered annualized sales of 652 million NZ dollars (530.25 million U.S. dollars) with an export content of 41 percent.

Export sales had bounced back strongly after declining the previous month, causing a decent increase in sales overall, NZMEA chief executive John Walley said in a statement.

"We have been bouncing around the zero growth mark for the past three years now, so it is pleasing to see an upturn, but we are still waiting for a trend of increased sales to develop," said Walley.

"Manufacturers and exporters commented that sales were holding up, but there was a reduction in forward orders suggesting that firms are nervous about future prospects," he said.

"The most concerning factor from the comments on the survey was that demand from Australia is quickly drying up. The message there is that the effects of the mining industry on the wider Australian economy are crowding out some manufacturing activity."

New Zealand's high exchange rate remained a major problem with some firms reporting poor returns from Europe and increased competitiveness amongst local European suppliers able to undercut New Zealand on price.

"The exchange rate was once again mentioned as the biggest barrier for exporters and there is an expectation of some action from the government on this," said Walley.