Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says Canterbury had extraordinary economic growth in the December quarter despite the ongoing aftershocks.
Mr Brownlee says the region had record freight movements and the value of trade through the port and airport has been strong.
He says the trend has been borne out by the National Bank Regional Trends Economic Survey
For the three months to December, Canterbury had economic growth of almost 1% which Mr Brownlee says may be revised upwards.
He says the growth is a tribute to Canterbury people who have worked hard to keep their business and retail sectors going.
