Bay of Plenty from 9–16 °C in winter to 22–26 °C in summer. Rainfall occurs more frequently in winter than in summer, but tropical storms in summer and autumn can produce heavy rain with high winds. Central parts of the region can receive up to 2000 mm of rainfall annually, while the eastern and western areas can receive up to 4000 mm. The sub-national GDP of the Bay of Plenty region was estimated at US$6.689 billion in 2003, 5% of New Zealand's national GDP. Agriculture, natural resources and tourism are the major industries. Most (96 per cent) of the region is defined as
Bay of Plenty in the region struggled: the climate was ill-suited to sheep farming and the geography was inaccessible, further hindered by a lack of infrastructure. By the end of the century the population had started to dwindle. But after experimenting with different crops, settlers found success with dairy production. Dairy factories sprang up across the Bay of Plenty in the 1900s, with butter and cheese feeding economic prosperity throughout the early 20th century; local Māori continued to live on the fringe of this prosperity. Timber also became a major export in the 1950s, as kiwifruit did later. The present Bay of Plenty