Trade at a Glance 2009
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Trade Performance at a Glance
Profile of Australian Trade
Australia has a diverse export base and is a major exporter of food, resources, fuels and education. In 2008, Australia's two-way trade totalled $561 billion, up from $456 billion in 2007.
Japan, China, the United States and Singapore were the nation's top four trading partners in 2008. About 70 per cent of Australia's trade was with the member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Australia is an active and successful global trader of goods and services.
| ($ billion) | |
|---|---|
| Coal | 46.4 |
| Iron ore & concentrates | 30.2 |
| Education services (b) | 15.5 |
| Gold (c) | 14.7 |
| Personal travel (excl education) services | 11.7 |
| Crude petroleum | 10.4 |
| Natural gas | 9.1 |
| Professional, technical & other business services | 6.5 |
| Aluminium ores & conc (incl alumina) | 6.5 |
| Aluminium | 5.8 |
| Beef, fresh, chilled or frozen (f.c.f) | 5.0 |
| Other transportation services (d) | 4.6 |
| Other ores & concentrates | 4.2 |
| Copper ores & concentrates | 4.2 |
| Passenger transportation services (e) | 4.0 |
| Wheat | 3.8 |
| Passenger motor vehicles | 3.7 |
| Medicaments (incl veterinary) | 3.6 |
| Copper | 3.5 |
| Refined petroleum | 3.5 |
| Total exports (f) | 227.9 |
(a) Goods trade are on a recorded trade basis.
Services trade are on a BOP (BOP) basis.
(b) Includes Education-related travel and Other education services.
(c) BOP basis.
(d) Other transportation services exports covers a range of services
provided in Australian airports and ports, including cargo and baggage handling services, agents fees associated with passenger and freight transportation and airport and port charges.
(e) Includes related agency fees and commissions.
(f) Total exports on a BOP basis.
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
Australia's Trade Performance
Australian exports of goods and services grew 27.6 per cent in 2008, to $278 billion. The strong growth was led by resources exports which were in very high demand, reaching $121.2 billion. Education services exports rose 23 per cent to $15.5 billion and around two-thirds of Australia's farm production was exported.
Imports increased 18.9 per cent to $283 billion. Strong consumer demand, high oil prices and imports of capital goods by business contributed to this growth in the first nine months of the year. The fall in the value of the Australian dollar from a peak of 97 US cents in July 2008 to below 70 US cents at the end of the year also increased the value (in Australian dollar terms) of imports priced in foreign currencies.
The Australian Economy
Australia's economic fundamentals are strong and the Government is committed to responsible economic management. The global financial crisis, which intensified in mid-September 2008 and has resulted in the worst global recession since WWII, is posing unique challenges for the Australian economy.
- Despite the global economy being in deep recession, Australia is performing better than most other advanced economies.
- Strong financial institutions and sound regulatory frameworks have enhanced Australia's ability to weather the global financial crisis.
- Despite the worsening of the global financial crisis, in the last quarter of 2008 Australia had recorded 17 successive years of growth.
- Australia has an independent central bank.
- Australia has one of the most multilingual workforces in the Asia-Pacific region.
| Goods(a) | $ million | % share |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 46,403 | 20.6 |
| Iron ore & concentrates | 30,221 | 13.4 |
| Gold (b) | 14,702 | 6.5 |
| Crude petroleum | 10,360 | 4.6 |
| Natural gas | 9,053 | 4.0 |
| Aluminium ores & conc (incl alumina) | 6,467 | 2.9 |
| Aluminium | 5,794 | 2.6 |
| Beef, fresh, chilled or frozen (f.c.f) | 4,969 | 2.2 |
| Other ores & concentrates | 4,221 | 1.9 |
| Copper ores & concentrates | 4,194 | 1.9 |
| Wheat | 3,792 | 1.7 |
| Passenger motor vehicles | 3,716 | 1.7 |
| Medicaments (incl veterinary) | 3,578 | 1.6 |
| Copper | 3,506 | 1.6 |
| Refined petroleum | 3,479 | 1.5 |
| Alcoholic beverages (mainly wine) | 2,615 | 1.2 |
| Wool & other animal hair (incl tops) | 2,284 | 1.0 |
| Meat (excl beef) | 2,135 | 1.0 |
| Nickel ores & concentrates | 1,679 | 0.7 |
| Milk & cream | 1,541 | 0.7 |
| Total goods exports (b) | 224,718 | 100.0 |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) BOP basis.
(c) Also including veterinary medicines.
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
| $ million | % share | |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | ||
| Passenger (b) | 3,991 | 7.5 |
| Freight | 666 | 1.3 |
| Other (b)(c) | 4,583 | 8.6 |
| Total transportation | 9,240 | 17.4 |
| Travel | ||
| Business | 2,736 | 5.1 |
| Personal | 26,663 | 50.1 |
| Education-related | 15,002 | 28.2 |
| Other personal (d) | 11,661 | 21.9 |
| Total travel | 29,399 | 55.3 |
| Other | ||
| Communication (e) | 924 | 1.7 |
| Construction | 82 | 0.2 |
| Insurance | 738 | 1.4 |
| Financial | 1,055 | 2.0 |
| Computer and information | 1,673 | 3.1 |
| Royalties and licence fees | 817 | 1.5 |
| Other business services | 7,655 | 14.4 |
| Personal, cultural and recreational | 780 | 1.5 |
| Government services, nie | 848 | 1.6 |
| Total other services | 14,572 | 27.4 |
| Total services exports | 53,202 | 100.0 |
(a) BOP basis.
(b) Passenger services include air transport-related agency fees and commissions.
(c) Transportation operation lease fees are included.
(d) Inbound tourism for mainly recreational purposes.
(e) Communications services include other services nie (not included elsewhere).
Source: ABS catalogue 5368.0.
| Goods(a) | $ million | % share |
|---|---|---|
| Crude petroleum | 17,905 | 7.8 |
| Refined petroleum | 15,061 | 6.6 |
| Passenger motor vehicles | 14,751 | 6.4 |
| Gold | 9,732 | 4.2 |
| Telecom equipment & parts | 6,902 | 3.0 |
| Medicaments (incl veterinary) | 6,800 | 3.0 |
| Goods vehicles | 6,587 | 2.9 |
| Computers | 5,818 | 2.5 |
| Civil engineering equipment & parts | 4,165 | 1.8 |
| Aircraft, spacecraft & parts | 4,159 | 1.8 |
| Monitors, projectors & TVs | 3,019 | 1.3 |
| Measuring & analysing instruments | 2,891 | 1.3 |
| Furniture, mattresses & cushions | 2,802 | 1.2 |
| Prams, toys, games & sporting goods | 2,753 | 1.2 |
| Vehicle parts & accessories | 2,745 | 1.2 |
| Electrical machinery & parts, nie | 2,468 | 1.1 |
| Fertilisers (excl crude) | 2,251 | 1.0 |
| Mechanical handling equip & parts | 2,160 | 0.9 |
| Specialised machinery & parts | 2,146 | 0.9 |
| Heating & cooling equipment & parts | 2,122 | 0.9 |
| Total goods imports (b) | 229,407 | 100.0 |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) BOP basis
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
| $ million | % share | |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | ||
| Passenger | 7,214 | 13.4 |
| Freight | 9,753 | 18.1 |
| Other | 572 | 1.1 |
| Total transportation | 17,539 | 32.6 |
| Travel | ||
| Business | 3,111 | 5.8 |
| Personal | 15,629 | 29.1 |
| Education-related | 894 | 1.7 |
| Other personal (b) | 14,735 | 27.4 |
| Total travel | 18,740 | 34.8 |
| Other | ||
| Communication (c) | 1,162 | 2.2 |
| Construction | 0 | 0.0 |
| Insurance | 952 | 1.8 |
| Financial | 632 | 1.2 |
| Computer and information | 1,544 | 2.9 |
| Royalties and licence fees | 3,554 | 6.6 |
| Other business services | 7,372 | 13.7 |
| Personal, cultural and recreational | 1,439 | 2.7 |
| Government services, nie | 848 | 1.6 |
| Total other services | 17,503 | 32.5 |
| Total services imports | 53,783 | 100.0 |
(a) BOP basis.
(b) Inbound tourism for mainly recreational purposes.
(c) Communications services include other services (nie)
Source: ABS catalogue 5368.0.
| Goods(a) | Services(b) | Total(c) | % share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 71.0 | 5.0 | 76.0 | 13.6 |
| 2 | China | 67.6 | 6.2 | 73.8 | 13.2 |
| 3 | United States | 38.8 | 15.9 | 54.7 | 9.8 |
| 4 | Singapore | 22.3 | 8.7 | 31.0 | 5.5 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 19.3 | 9.2 | 28.4 | 5.1 |
| 6 | Republic of Korea | 24.8 | 2.4 | 27.2 | 4.9 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 16.9 | 6.0 | 22.9 | 4.1 |
| 8 | India | 15.3 | 3.6 | 18.9 | 3.4 |
| 9 | Thailand | 15.5 | 2.8 | 18.3 | 3.3 |
| 10 | Germany | 13.4 | 2.2 | 15.7 | 2.8 |
| Total two-way trade (b) | 453.8 | 107.0 | 560.8 | 100.0 | |
| of which: | APEC | 320.9 | 60.9 | 381.9 | 68.1 |
| ASEAN | 70.7 | 18.2 | 88.9 | 15.8 | |
| EU27 | 71.0 | 20.3 | 91.3 | 16.3 | |
| OECD | 233.1 | 53.7 | 286.8 | 51.1 | |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) BOP basis.
(c) Total may not sum due to rounding.
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
| Rank | Country | Goods(a) | Services(b) | Total exports | % share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 1,301 | 522 | 1,823 | 9.2 |
| 2 | Germany | 1,465 | 235 | 1,700 | 8.6 |
| 3 | China | 1,428 | 129 | 1,558 | 7.8 |
| 4 | Japan | 782 | 144 | 926 | 4.7 |
| 5 | France | 609 | 153 | 762 | 3.8 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 458 | 283 | 741 | 3.7 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 634 | 102 | 736 | 3.7 |
| 8 | Italy | 540 | 123 | 663 | 3.3 |
| 9 | Belgium | 477 | 89 | 566 | 2.8 |
| 10 | Russian Federation | 472 | 50 | 522 | 2.6 |
| 11 | Canada | 456 | 62 | 519 | 2.6 |
| 12 | Republic of Korea | 422 | 74 | 496 | 2.5 |
| 13 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 370 | 91 | 461 | 2.3 |
| 14 | Spain | 268 | 143 | 411 | 2.1 |
| 15 | Singapore | 338 | 72 | 410 | 2.1 |
| 16 | Saudi Arabia | 329 | 8 | 337 | 1.7 |
| 17 | Mexico | 292 | 18 | 310 | 1.6 |
| 18 | Taiwan | 256 | 34 | 289 | 1.5 |
| 19 | India | 179 | 101 | 280 | 1.4 |
| 20 | Switzerland | 200 | 74 | 275 | 1.4 |
| 21 | Sweden | 184 | 71 | 255 | 1.3 |
| 22 | Austria | 182 | 62 | 244 | 1.2 |
| 23 | United Arab Emirates | 232 | 8 | 240 | 1.2 |
| 24 | Australia | 187 | 46 | 233 | 1.2 |
| 25 | Malaysia | 200 | 30 | 229 | 1.2 |
| 26 | Brazil | 198 | 29 | 227 | 1.1 |
| 27 | Ireland | 124 | 96 | 220 | 1.1 |
| 28 | Norway | 168 | 46 | 214 | 1.1 |
| 29 | Thailand | 178 | 33 | 211 | 1.1 |
| 30 | Poland | 168 | 35 | 202 | 1.0 |
| Total exports | 16,127 | 3,731 | 19,858 |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) Commercial services on BOP basis.
Sources: WTO online database and EIU Viewswire.
| Goods(a) | Services(b) | Total(c) | % share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 50.8 | 2.4 | 53.2 | 19.1 |
| 2 | China | 32.3 | 4.7 | 37.1 | 13.3 |
| 3 | Republic of Korea | 18.4 | 1.8 | 20.2 | 7.3 |
| 4 | United States | 12.1 | 6.1 | 18.3 | 6.6 |
| 5 | India | 13.5 | 3.0 | 16.5 | 5.9 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 9.3 | 4.8 | 14.1 | 5.1 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 9.3 | 3.4 | 12.8 | 4.6 |
| 8 | Singapore | 6.1 | 3.9 | 10.1 | 3.6 |
| 9 | Taiwan | 8.3 | 0.5 | 8.7 | 3.1 |
| 10 | Thailand | 5.3 | 1.0 | 6.3 | 2.3 |
| Total exports (b) | |||||
| 224.7 | 53.2 | 277.9 | 100.0 | ||
| of which: | APEC | 162.4 | 30.7 | 193.1 | 69.5 |
| ASEAN | 22.9 | 8.5 | 31.4 | 11.3 | |
| EU27 | 23.5 | 9.0 | 32.5 | 11.7 | |
| OECD | 117.7 | 24.5 | 142.2 | 51.2 | |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) BOP basis.
(c) Total may not sum due to rounding.
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
| Rank | Country | Goods(a) | Services(b) | Total | % share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 2,166 | 364 | 2,530 | 12.7 |
| 2 | Germany | 1,206 | 285 | 1,491 | 7.5 |
| 3 | China | 1,133 | 154 | 1,287 | 6.5 |
| 4 | Japan | 762 | 166 | 928 | 4.7 |
| 5 | France | 708 | 137 | 845 | 4.2 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 632 | 199 | 831 | 4.2 |
| 7 | Italy | 556 | 132 | 689 | 3.5 |
| 8 | Netherlands | 574 | 92 | 666 | 3.3 |
| 9 | Belgium | 470 | 84 | 554 | 2.8 |
| 10 | Republic of Korea | 435 | 93 | 528 | 2.7 |
| 11 | Spain | 402 | 108 | 510 | 2.6 |
| 12 | Canada | 418 | 84 | 503 | 2.5 |
| 13 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 393 | 44 | 437 | 2.2 |
| 14 | Singapore | 320 | 76 | 396 | 2.0 |
| 15 | Russian Federation | 292 | 75 | 367 | 1.8 |
| 16 | Mexico | 323 | 25 | 348 | 1.7 |
| 17 | India | 292 | 53 | 344 | 1.7 |
| 18 | Taiwan | 240 | 34 | 274 | 1.4 |
| 19 | Australia | 200 | 45 | 246 | 1.2 |
| 20 | Poland | 204 | 30 | 234 | 1.2 |
| 21 | Brazil | 183 | 44 | 227 | 1.1 |
| 22 | Austria | 184 | 42 | 226 | 1.1 |
| 23 | Thailand | 179 | 46 | 225 | 1.1 |
| 24 | Sweden | 167 | 54 | 221 | 1.1 |
| 25 | Switzerland | 183 | 37 | 220 | 1.1 |
| 26 | Turkey | 202 | 16 | 218 | 1.1 |
| 27 | United Arab Emirates | 159 | 36 | 195 | 1.0 |
| 28 | Malaysia | 157 | 29 | 186 | 0.9 |
| 29 | Ireland | 83 | 103 | 186 | 0.9 |
| 30 | Denmark | 112 | 62 | 175 | 0.9 |
| Total imports | 16,415 | 3,469 | 19,884 |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) Commercial services on BOP basis.
Sources: WTO online database and EIU Viewswire.
| Goods(a) | Services(b) | Total(c) | % share | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 35.3 | 1.4 | 36.7 | 13.0 |
| 2 | United States | 26.7 | 9.8 | 36.5 | 12.9 |
| 3 | Japan | 20.2 | 2.6 | 22.8 | 8.1 |
| 4 | Singapore | 16.2 | 4.8 | 21.0 | 7.4 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 10.0 | 4.4 | 14.4 | 5.1 |
| 6 | Germany | 11.4 | 1.2 | 12.6 | 4.4 |
| 7 | Thailand | 10.2 | 1.8 | 12.0 | 4.2 |
| 8 | New Zealand | 7.6 | 2.6 | 10.2 | 3.6 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 9.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 3.5 |
| 10 | Republic of Korea | 6.4 | 0.6 | 7.0 | 2.5 |
| Total imports(b) | |||||
| 229.4 | 53.8 | 283.2 | 100.0 | ||
| of which: | APEC | 158.5 | 30.2 | 188.7 | 66.6 |
| ASEAN | 47.7 | 9.7 | 57.4 | 20.3 | |
| EU27 | 47.5 | 11.3 | 58.7 | 20.7 | |
| OECD | 115.4 | 29.2 | 144.6 | 51.0 | |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) BOP basis.
(c) Total may not sum due to rounding.
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
| Country | Level of direct investment in Australia | Level of total investment in Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 60,373 | 427,070 | |
| United States | 95,417 | 418,445 | |
| Japan | 35,959 | 89,511 | |
| Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 9,465 | 56,317 | |
| Singapore | 10,103 | 43,050 | |
| Switzerland | 19,509 | 38,133 | |
| Germany | 13,738 | 36,272 | |
| Netherlands | 25,085 | 32,901 | |
| France | 13,406 | 28,936 | |
| New Zealand | 5,362 | 27,061 | |
| Total all countries | 392,862 | 1,724,444 | |
| of which: | APEC | 176,328 | 685,644 |
| ASEAN | 15,435 | 58,271 | |
| EU27 | 133,243 | 567,457 | |
| OECD | 302,238 | 1,161,237 | |
(a) Foreign investment in Australia: level
of investment (stocks) as at 31 December 2008, by selected country and
country group.
Source: ABS catalogue 5352.0.
| Country | Level of direct investment abroad | Total Australian investment abroad | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 121,435 | 394,614 | |
| United Kingdom | 23,002 | 158,079 | |
| New Zealand | 34,407 | 66,121 | |
| Canada | 27,910 | 38,848 | |
| France | 333 | 35,395 | |
| Netherlands | 5,647 | 30,020 | |
| Japan | 1,112 | 29,108 | |
| Germany | 7,942 | 24,390 | |
| Singapore | 6,726 | 21,994 | |
| Hong Kong (b) | 5,847 | 20,141 | |
| Total all countries | 281,064 | 1,010,642 | |
| of which: | APEC | 213,591 | 606,356 |
| ASEAN | 13,750 | 34,437 | |
| EU27 | 42,615 | 304,046 | |
| OECD | 231,638 | 829,088 | |
(a)Australian investment abroad: level of
investment (stocks) as at 31 December 2008,
by selected country and country group.
Source: ABS catalogue 5352.0.
| Gross value added(a) | Employed persons(b) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ($m) | %share(c) | ('000) | % share | |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 25,386 | 2.5 | 371.6 | 3.5 |
| Mining | 84,585 | 8.4 | 180.3 | 1.7 |
| Manufacturing | 106,634 | 10.6 | 1,066.9 | 10.1 |
| Services | ||||
| Electricity, gas and water | 22,225 | 2.2 | 108.6 | 1.0 |
| Construction | 79,300 | 7.9 | 984.5 | 9.3 |
| Wholesale trade | 49,296 | 4.9 | 442.8 | 4.2 |
| Retail trade | 59,198 | 5.9 | 1,532.2 | 14.4 |
| Accommodation, cafes and restaurants | 20,228 | 2.0 | 515.9 | 4.9 |
| Transport and storage | 51,719 | 5.1 | 528.5 | 5.0 |
| Communication services | 26,726 | 2.7 | 198.7 | 1.9 |
| Finance and insurance | 80,463 | 8.0 | 383.8 | 3.6 |
| Property and business services | 131,616 | 13.1 | 1,291.4 | 12.2 |
| Government administration and defence | 40,863 | 4.1 | 486.4 | 4.6 |
| Education | 44,000 | 4.4 | 763.5 | 7.2 |
| Health and community services | 63,749 | 6.3 | 1,136.6 | 10.7 |
| Cultural and recreational services | 16,352 | 1.6 | 282.6 | 2.7 |
| Personal and other services | 20,067 | 2.0 | 413.5 | 3.9 |
| Total services | 705,802 | 70.1 | 9,069.2 | 85.5 |
| Ownership of dwellings | 84,565 | 8.4 | ||
| Gross value added at basic prices (d) | 1,006,972 | 100.0 | ||
| Taxes less subsidies on products | 84,111 | |||
| Statistical discrepancy (e) | -1,354 | |||
| Total (d) | 1,089,728 | 10,608 | 100.0 | |
(a) The term is used to describe gross product
by industry and by sector (Chain Volume Measures reference year 2006-07).
(b) Derived from seasonally adjusted data.
(c) As a share of GDP at basic prices.
(d) Basic prices are amounts received by producers, including the value of
any subsidies on products, but before any taxes on products. GDP at
purchasers' (market) prices is derived by adding Taxes less subisidies
on products to Gross value added at basic prices.
(e) Production approach.
Sources: ABS catalogues 5206.0, 6202.0 and 6203.0.
| 1998 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demand and production - chain volume measures, reference year 2006-07 | |||||
| Gross domestic product (a) | % change | 5.1 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 2.0 |
| Exports of goods & services (a) | % change | 0.1 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 4.7 |
| Imports of goods & services (a) | % change | 6.5 | 7.3 | 11.8 | 10.5 |
Labour force |
|||||
| Population (b) | '000 | 18,814 | 20,874 | 21,238 | 21,543(e) |
| Labour force (c) | '000 | 9,375 | 10,910 | 11,144 | 11,319 |
| Employed persons (c) | '000 | 8,688 | 10,413 | 10,671 | 10,808 |
| - Annual growth | % | 2.0 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 1.3 |
| Unemployment rate (c) | % | 7.3 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
Prices and interest rates |
|||||
| Consumer prices | % change | 1.6 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
| Interest rates - 90 day bills (d) | % pa | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 7.0 |
(a) Derived from annual movements in original data.
(b) At end of period.
(c) Derived from seasonally adjusted data.
(d) Annual average.
(e) September 2008 data.
Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics and Reserve Bank, various catalogues.
Australia's Trade and Economic Statistics
Agriculture
- Australia exports around two-thirds of its total farm production.
- Agricultural products(a), including food and beverages, accounted for 11.1 per cent of Australia's exports in 2008.
- Most Australian agriculture tariffs are applied at rates between zero and five per cent
| Rank | Commodity | $ million | % share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beef | 4,969 | 16.0 |
| 2 | Wheat | 3,792 | 12.2 |
| 3 | Wine | 2,510 | 8.1 |
| 4 | Wool & other animal hair (incl tops) | 2,284 | 7.4 |
| 5 | Meat (excl beef) | 2,135 | 6.9 |
| 6 | Milk & cream | 1,541 | 5.0 |
| 7 | Barley | 1,245 | 4.0 |
| 8 | Wood in chips or particles | 1,146 | 3.7 |
| 9 | Live animals (excl seafood) | 1,119 | 3.6 |
| 10 | Animal feed | 1,106 | 3.6 |
| 11 | Cheese & curd | 904 | 2.9 |
| 12 | Cereal preparations | 741 | 2.4 |
| 13 | Crustaceans | 732 | 2.4 |
| 14 | Hides & skins, raw (excl furskins) | 718 | 2.3 |
| 15 | Vegetables | 600 | 1.9 |
| 16 | Fruit & nuts | 574 | 1.9 |
| 17 | Edible products & preparations | 505 | 1.6 |
| 18 | Cotton | 449 | 1.4 |
| 19 | Oil-seeds & oleaginous fruits, soft | 401 | 1.3 |
| 20 | Animal oils & fats | 393 | 1.3 |
| Total agricultural exports | 30,984 | 100.0 | |
(a) Based on the WTO definition of agriculture, which includes alcoholic
beverages but excludes confidential raw sugar in bulk. Data for
confidential raw sugar in bulk are released with a six-month lag. In
2006-07, raw sugar in bulk exports totalled $958 million.
(b) Recorded trade basis.
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database.
Minerals and fuels
- this was Australia's largest export sector in 2008 - at $120.5 billion it accounted for 43.4 per cent of total exports. Coal and Iron ore were the top two resources exports.
- Japan and China were Australia's leading export markets for minerals and fuels.
- Almost all applied tariffs on mining and energy products in Australia are between zero and five per cent.
| Rank | Commodity(a) | $ million | % share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coal | 46,403 | 38.5 |
| 2 | Iron ore & concentrates | 30,221 | 25.1 |
| 3 | Crude petroleum | 10,360 | 8.6 |
| 4 | Natural gas | 9,053 | 7.5 |
| 5 | Aluminium ores & conc (incl alumina) | 6,467 | 5.4 |
| 6 | Other ores & concentrates | 4,221 | 3.5 |
| 7 | Copper ores & concentrates | 4,194 | 3.5 |
| 8 | Refined petroleum | 3,479 | 2.9 |
| 9 | Nickel ores & concentrates | 1,679 | 1.4 |
| 10 | Liquefied propane & butane | 1,220 | 1.0 |
| 11 | Confidential mineral ores | 1,206 | 1.0 |
| 12 | Ferrous waste & scrap | 822 | 0.7 |
| 13 | Uranium or thorium ores & conc | 736 | 0.6 |
| 14 | Non-ferrous waste & scrap | 722 | 0.6 |
| 15 | Coke & semi-coke | 245 | 0.2 |
| 16 | Crude minerals, nes | 229 | 0.2 |
| 17 | Precious metal ores & conc (excl gold) | 132 | 0.1 |
| 18 | Stone, sand & gravel | 116 | 0.1 |
| 19 | Natural abrasives | 48 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Residual petroleum products, nie | 19 | 0.0 |
| Total minerals and fuels exports(b) | 120,526 | 100.0 | |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
Sources: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
Manufacturing
- About 65 per cent of Australia's manufactured exports are Elaborately transformed manufactures - worth $31 billion.
- Australian exports of Simply transformed manufactures (mainly processed metals) were in demand in North Asia and were valued at $16 billion.
- the manufacturing sector accounted for 17 per cent of Australia's total exports in 2008.
- Australia's applied tariffs on manufactures are almost all either
five per cent or zero, with the main exceptions being:
- Passenger motor vehicles and automotive parts and components, for which tariffs are currently 10 per cent, but are scheduled to fall to five per cent in 2010.
- Textiles, clothing and footwear, which currently range from five percent to 17.5 per cent and are scheduled to fall to five per cent (by either 2010 or 2015 depending on the product).
| Rank | Commodity(a) | $ million | % share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aluminium | 5,794 | 12.3 |
| 2 | Passenger motor vehicles | 3,716 | 7.9 |
| 3 | Medicaments (incl veterinary) | 3,578 | 7.6 |
| 4 | Copper | 3,506 | 7.4 |
| 5 | Lead | 1,129 | 2.4 |
| 6 | Medical instruments (incl veterinary) | 1,109 | 2.3 |
| 7 | Zinc | 1,045 | 2.2 |
| 8 | Aircraft, spacecraft & parts | 1,010 | 2.1 |
| 9 | Uncoated flat-rolled iron & steel | 991 | 2.1 |
| 10 | Measuring & analysing instruments | 913 | 1.9 |
| 11 | Telecom equipment & parts | 898 | 1.9 |
| 12 | Civil engineering equipment & parts | 791 | 1.7 |
| 13 | Specialised machinery & parts | 752 | 1.6 |
| 14 | Vehicle parts & accessories | 677 | 1.4 |
| 15 | Fertilisers (excl crude) | 649 | 1.4 |
| 16 | Internal combustion piston engines | 618 | 1.3 |
| 17 | Nickel | 605 | 1.3 |
| 18 | Pigments, paints & varnishes | 563 | 1.2 |
| 19 | Starches, inulin & wheat gluten | 558 | 1.2 |
| 20 | Paper & paperboard | 554 | 1.2 |
| Total manufactures exports(b) | 47,260 | 100.0 | |
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b)Total manufactures exports on a BOP basis.
Source: ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogue 5368.0.
Services
- Services accounted for 19.1 per cent of Australia's total exports in 2008 at $53 billion.
- Education was Australia's largest services export, more than 543,898 international students were enrolled in Australia in 2008.
- the United States, the United Kingdom and China are Australia's top export markets for services.
The details of Australia's services exports are set out here.