Record volumes of gold have been moved to New Zealand in the past year.

International investors have been flying in their nuggets of gold and storing them in vaults here.

Customs figures reveal $242 million in gold was imported to New Zealand in the past 12 months.

Managing director at NZ Gold Merchants Tony Coleman told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's a mixture of people bringing gold in. 

"I would think somewhere around the $180 million [mark] would be consumed by local investors."

He says there are a couple of ways gold is being imported, including companies like his that import gold and silver into the country. 

One way people are getting gold into the country is through private jet. 

"It is very valuable and very heavy, and your normal way of moving freight around the country or the world is not normally done with high values of bullion." 

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