Australia: Innovation, pragmatism, common sense

billion — this is 27.7 percent higher than the same month of the previous year. This monthly decline was driven by non-rural and other goods exports which fell by 6.7 percent in December. Services goods exports rose slightly by 0.5 per cent in the month.

  • Total imports declined by 7.3 percent in December to AUS$23.3 billion — this is 13.2 percent higher than the corresponding month a year ago.

    • Exports by industry

    • Total industry exports (current prices) totaled AUS$279.3 billion over 2008 — this is 140.0 percent higher than the total for 1998.
    • Agricultural exports accounted for 3.8 percent of total exports in 2008, down from 8.5 percent in 1998.
    • Mining exports accounted for 39.2 percent of total exports in 2008, well above the 18.8 percent in 1998.
    • Manufacturing exports accounted for 33.8 per cent of total exports in 2008, down from 45.8 percent in 1998.
    • Services exports accounted for 19.5 percent of total exports in 2008, slightly down from 23.5 percent in 1998.
    • Exports not specifically classified to an industry (due to not readily being classified or confidential) account for the remainder (approximately 3 percent of total exports).

    Australia’s export destinations

    Export volumes — as reported in the ABS balance of payments — edged down by 0.8 percent in the December quarter 2008 to be AUS$57.3 billion and 3.9 per cent higher through the year, while export values grew by 8.0 per cent to AUS$79.9 billion. Both resource and manufactured export volumes have continued to expand strongly over the past year and services sector export volumes have also contributed strongly. Over the 10 years to 2008, export volumes have increased by 35.3 percent, while export values have dramatically increased by 174.2 per cent (see chart 1).

    Japan is Australia’s largest export market, accounting for AUS$50.6 billion in 2008 (free on board value terms). This is followed by China (AUS$32.5 billion), Republic of Korea (AUS$18.5 billion), and India (AUS$13.5 billion). China is Australia’s largest two-way trading partner (imports and exports), followed by Japan, the United States, and the Republic of Korea.

    Australia-U.S. Free trade Agreement (AUSFTA)

    • There are about 42,000 exporting businesses in Australia; of which about 90 percent are small and medium enterprises (SME).
    • Before the FTA, only 19 percent of all Australian SMEs exported to the United States; in 2006, a year after FTA went into effect, the number of Aussie SMEs exporting to the United States grew to 36 percent of SMEs. The number has registered between high 20s and low 30s percent ever since.
    • The United States is currently the second most important export destination for Australian SMEs, behind  New Zealand but ahead of the United Kingdom.
    • The United States is Australia’s single largest trade and investment partner and Australia’s third-largest two-way trading partner in the goods and services market.