International Trade in Goods

Latest release

Statistics about international trade in goods, on a balance of payments and international trade basis.

Reference period
January 2024
Released
7/03/2024
  • Next Release 5/04/2024
    International Trade in Goods, February 2024
  • Next Release 2/05/2024
    International Trade in Goods, March 2024
  • Next Release 6/06/2024
    International Trade in Goods, April 2024
  • View all releases

Key statistics

  • The seasonally adjusted balance on goods increased $284m in January.
  • Goods credits (exports) rose $757m (1.6%) driven by Non-monetary gold.
  • Goods debits (imports) rose $471m (1.3%) driven by Non-industrial transport equipment.

Trade overview

Key Figures, Seasonally Adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Balance on goods11,43710,74311,027284na
 Credits (Exports of goods)46,05846,75447,5117571.6
 Debits (Imports of goods)-34,621-36,012-36,4834711.3

na not applicable

 

  1. Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets for this period.

Goods credits

  1. Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets for this period.
Goods credits, seasonally adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Total goods credits46,05846,75447,5117571.6
 General merchandise43,61443,81844,0452270.5
  Rural goods5,7135,6786,1084307.6
  Non-rural goods37,90238,14137,937-204-0.5
 Net exports of goods under merchanting(a)151614-2-12.5
 Non-monetary gold(a)2,4292,9203,45253218.2
  1. This component is not seasonally adjusted.

Rural goods

Rural goods rose $430m (7.6%), driven by Cereal grains and cereal preparations, up $333m (26.6%).

Rural goods, seasonally adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Rural goods5,7135,6786,1084307.6
 Meat and meat preparations1,5211,5791,85827917.7
 Cereal grains and cereal preparations1,5711,2541,58733326.6
 Wool and sheepskins22429429620.7
 Other rural(a)2,3972,5512,367-184-7.2
  1. For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Other non-rural.

Non-rural goods

Non-rural goods fell $204m (0.5%), driven by Other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages), down $236m (18.0%).

Non-rural goods, seasonally adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Non-rural goods37,90238,14137,937-204-0.5
 Metal ores and minerals16,57316,39016,5531631.0
 Coal, coke and briquettes8,3287,9067,847-59-0.7
 Other mineral fuels6,7477,1987,136-62-0.9
 Metals (excl. non-monetary gold)1,1591,3531,263-90-6.7
 Machinery1,3001,1431,162191.7
 Transport equipment400399409102.5
 Other manufactures2,0892,1822,238562.6
 Other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages)(a)1,0181,3141,078-236-18.0
 Goods procured in ports by carriers(b)287256253-3-1.2
  1. For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Other non-rural.
  2. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.

For price and quantity details, see the Selected commodities information available in the Supplementary information section.

Goods debits

  1. Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets for this period.
Goods debits(a), seasonally adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Total goods debits-34,621-36,012-36,4834711.3
 General merchandise debits-34,050-35,385-35,6692840.8
  Consumption goods-10,159-11,119-11,6935745.2
  Capital goods-8,777-8,597-9,1045075.9
  Intermediate and other merchandise goods-15,114-15,669-14,873-796-5.1
 Non-monetary gold(b)-571-627-81418729.8
  1. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
  2. This component is not seasonally adjusted.

Consumption goods

Consumption goods rose $574m (5.2%), driven by Non-industrial transport equipment, up $550m (17.2%).

Consumption goods(a), seasonally adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Consumption goods-10,159-11,119-11,6935745.2
 Food and beverages, mainly for consumption-1,542-1,588-1,569-19-1.2
 Household electrical items-543-548-572244.4
 Non-industrial transport equipment-2,787-3,189-3,73955017.2
 Textiles, clothing and footwear-1,584-1,825-1,864392.1
 Toys, books and leisure goods-525-640-635-5-0.8
 Consumption goods n.e.s.-3,178-3,329-3,315-14-0.4
  1. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.

Capital goods

Capital goods rose $507m (5.9%), driven by Telecommunications equipment, up $347m (30.3%).

Capital goods(a), seasonally adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Capital goods-8,777-8,597-9,1045075.9
 Machinery and industrial equipment-2,946-2,999-2,937-62-2.1
 ADP equipment-917-894-1,00811412.8
 Telecommunications equipment-1,304-1,146-1,49334730.3
 Civil aircraft and confidentialised items(b)(c)-173-421-276-145-34.4
 Industrial transport equipment n.e.s.-2,031-1,710-1,93422413.1
 Capital goods n.e.s.(d)-1,407-1,428-1,456282.0
  1. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
  2. From July 2008, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Civil aircraft and confidentialised items. For earlier periods, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Other merchandise goods.
  3. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
  4. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

Intermediate and other merchandise goods fell $796m (5.1%), driven by Parts for transport equipment, down $591m (27.6%). 

Intermediate and other merchandise goods(a), seasonally adjusted
 Nov 23 ($m)Dec 23 ($m)Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 ($m)Dec 23 to Jan 24 (%)
Intermediate and other merchandise goods-15,114-15,669-14,873-796-5.1
 Food and beverages, mainly for industry-213-205-220157.3
 Primary industrial supplies n.e.s.(b)-232-122-1462419.7
 Fuels and lubricants(c)-5,017-5,188-4,897-291-5.6
 Parts for transport equipment-1,567-2,141-1,550-591-27.6
 Parts for ADP equipment-70-68-7468.8
 Other parts for capital goods-1,994-2,083-2,074-9-0.4
 Organic and inorganic chemicals-444-360-4165615.6
 Paper and paperboard-223-232-221-11-4.7
 Textile yarn and fabrics-126-135-13610.7
 Iron and steel-435-433-419-14-3.2
 Plastics-460-460-444-16-3.5
 Processed industrial supplies n.e.s.-3,946-3,977-4,030531.3
 Other merchandise goods(d)-185-65-49-16-24.6
 Goods procured in ports by carriers(e)-201-201-198-3-1.5
  1. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
  2. From July 2010, this series is not seasonally adjusted.
  3. Prior to October 2011, this series was not seasonally adjusted.
  4. From July 2008, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Civil aircraft and confidentialised items. For earlier periods, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Other merchandise goods.
  5. Prior to April 2010, this series was not seasonally adjusted.

Supplementary information

Selected commodities

Selected commodities, quantities (a)
 Aug 23 (%)Sep 23 (%)Oct 23 (%)Nov 23 (%)Dec 23 (%)Jan 24 (%)
Iron ore - Lump-0.4-1.60.6-4.38.1-6.8
Iron ore - Fines7.3-4.24.9-5.111.6-13.5
Coal - Hard coking7.6-11.90.518.30.1-10.8
Coal - Semi-soft-6.4-8.427.0-12.312.3-12.6
Coal - Thermal-17.49.85.90.77.2-14.7
Gas - LNG4.3-7.13.7-2.514.7-4.8
  1. Data in this table is on a revised international merchandise trade basis.
Selected commodities, unit values (a)
 Aug 23 (%)Sep 23 (%)Oct 23 (%)Nov 23 (%)Dec 23 (%)Jan 24 (%)
Iron ore - Lump1.19.33.44.5-1.04.6
Iron ore - Fines1.35.14.34.6-0.25.7
Coal - Hard coking4.38.89.96.1-18.0-0.6
Coal - Semi-soft-3.50.36.1-4.5-2.51.9
Coal - Thermal1.20.9-5.12.50.62.9
Gas - LNG4.81.30.01.9-3.54.4
  1. Data in this table is on a revised international merchandise trade basis and excludes value adjustments applied to balance of payments series.

Selected commodity movements

On an international merchandise trade basis, in original terms (noting the footnote in the above table), between December 2023 and January 2024 the largest movements recorded for the following selected commodities were:

Iron ore (lump), movement by country, Dec 23 to Jan 24
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (lump) - Total movement-90-2.5-6.84.6
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)-347-11.3-15.04.3
Taiwan2220.414.84.9
Vietnam35---
Japan6828.515.111.6
Korea, Republic of (South)12498.090.73.8

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
 

Iron ore (fines), movement by country, Dec 23 to Jan 24
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (fines) - Total movement-841-8.6-13.55.7
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)-803-9.5-14.86.2
Taiwan-66-62.2-64.15.4
Japan-27-5.7-10.85.8
Korea, Republic of (South)407.32.25.0
Indonesia5897.088.44.6


 

Hard coking (high rank) coal, movement by country, Dec 23 to Jan 24
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
High rank coal - Total movement-349-11.3-10.8-0.6
India-122-12.9-12.5-0.4
Taiwan-106-47.6-40.9-11.3
Korea, Republic of (South)-80-16.2-16.70.6
Brazil-62-70.7-63.4-19.8
Vietnam152162.4160.00.9


 

Semi soft coal, movement by country, Dec 23 to Jan 24
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Semi soft coal - Total movement-159-10.9-12.61.9
India-61-30.8-25.7-6.8
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)-54-73.6-71.2-8.4
Japan-36-6.5-4.4-2.2
Taiwan-28-18.4-20.32.4
France (includes Andorra and Monaco)27---

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
 

Thermal coal, movement by country, Dec 23 to Jan 24
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Thermal coal - Total movement-448-12.2-14.72.9
Taiwan-224-44.0-38.0-9.7
Korea, Republic of (South)-132-39.9-48.015.7
India-88-73.4-54.0-42.2
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)-86-12.7-12.5-0.2
Japan1589.96.53.1


 

Liquid Natural Gas, total movement, Dec 23 to Jan 24
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) - Total movement-38-0.6-4.84.4


 

Selected commodities, quantity and unit value analysis - International merchandise trade basis: Original terms

International merchandise trade exports data presented in the above tables are based on information reported by exporters to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to Home Affairs. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to Home Affairs. When additional information for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Unit values in this publication are presented in Australian dollar terms. Movements in the unit values for some commodities incorporate movements in the United States dollar prices reported to Home Affairs and movements in the Australian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate.

Value adjustments

International merchandise trade exports data presented in this publication are based on information reported by exporters to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). At the time of initial reporting to Home Affairs, the final prices at which transactions take place are not known for some commodities. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to Home Affairs.

For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to Home Affairs. When additional information on quantity and/or unit price for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Iron ore adjustments are applied on an international merchandise trade basis at the Australian Harmonized Export Commodity Classification (AHECC) level. Coal, coke and briquettes are adjusted on a balance of payments basis in current price, original terms. When final transaction information becomes available the adjusted estimates are replaced with these data.

In most instances, transfer of ownership occurs when goods cross the customs frontier. In certain circumstances the change of ownership of large value capital expenditure items can occur prior to the items crossing the customs frontier. The ABS may adjust the relevant balance of payments series to record the timing when transfer of ownership was affected.

Goods credits on an international merchandise trade basis

On a merchandise trade basis, adjustments have been applied to iron ore lumps and iron ore fines. When final transaction information becomes available, the adjusted estimates are replaced with these data. For price and volume details, see the Selected commodities section.

Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

Coal (in original terms)

In the international merchandise trade series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes fell 8.7% between November 2023 and December 2023 and rose 2.1% between December 2023 and January 2024.

Coal, coke and briquettes adjustment, BoP Basis
 Jul 23($m)Aug 23($m)Sep 23($m)Oct 23($m)Nov 23($m)Dec 23($m)Jan 24($m)
Coal, coke and briquettes08025015665690530

In the balance of payments series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes fell 1.3% between November 2023 and December 2023 and rose 0.9% between December 2023 and January 2024.

Revisions

Since the previous issue of this publication, revisions have been made to align with the data published in the December quarter 2023 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia released on 5 March, 2024 and Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, released on 6 March, 2024. 

On an international merchandise trade basis, goods exports and imports have been revised back to July 2023.

On a balance of payments basis, revisions have been applied to:

  • Goods exports back to October 2023

Table 17 summarises revisions to goods on a balance of payments basis since the last issue of this publication.

Confidential Commodities List

Confidential Commodities List

International trade in goods statistics are subject to confidentiality. Where necessary, a restriction is placed, at the commodity level, to restrict the level of detail available. Depending on the nature of restriction, this may be all detail relating to the product (no commodity details), or a restriction of only some variables (e.g. selected country details). Users of this publication and other international trade statistics should use the Confidential Commodities List (CCL) in Table 92 to determine whether a particular statistic has been subject to confidentiality restrictions, and therefore may not represent the true aggregate value.

The CCL Data Cube registers all import and export commodities subject to a confidentiality restriction and presents information under the following headings:

  • changes and new restrictions to import items in the current month
  • changes and new restrictions to export items in the current month
  • all import restrictions from January 1988 to the current month
  • all export restrictions from January 1988 to the current month.

There are additional confidentiality applications that impact ABS international trade in goods statistics that are not reflected in this data cube. These are presented in the International Merchandise Trade, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods which also provides more detailed information on international merchandise trade confidentiality. 

For further information, including how to interpret the Confidential Commodities List, please see the Explanatory Notes section in Table 92. 

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files
Data files

Create your own tables and visualisations with Data Explorer

Caution: Data in Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the reference period when using Data Explorer.

Data explorer for the monthly trade in goods. Users might need to update links to the new version. 

For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data Explorer user guide.

Seasonal adjustment for leap years

The extra leap year day in 2024 is unlikely to impact seasonally adjusted statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for the month of February 2024 and the March quarter 2024. This is because the effect of an additional leap year day is analysed and accounted for as part of the seasonal adjustment process, which includes the impact of trading days. The impact of the extra leap year day will be evident in the original (non-seasonally adjusted) series. For more information please refer to this note.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5368.0.

Back to top of the page