5489.0 - International Merchandise Trade, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods, 2015  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 11/11/2015   
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COUNTRY TRADE BALANCES

6.27 For the calculation of country trade balances, Australia's international merchandise trade statistics are classified by country of final destination for exports and country of origin for imports. The ABS does not publish country trade balances, however they can be easily calculated using time series spreadsheets 14a and 14b published in International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0). A country trade balance is calculated by subtracting Australia's imports from a country (table 14b) from Australia's exports to that country (table 14a).

6.28 Users should be aware that international merchandise trade statistics by country include the category 'Country not available for publication'. For exports, the category covers exports of alumina to Norway, Egypt and Iceland that were excluded from the country totals for the period up to and including February 1992. From March 1992 until December 2012 the category covers exports of alumina to Bahrain, Egypt and Iceland. From June 2013 the category represents goods affected by confidentiality restrictions that are excluded from the country totals and included in 'Country not available for publication' category (see paragraphs 9.34 and 9.35 and paragraphs 9.37 and 9.38 in Confidential Commodities List for more details). For imports the category represents goods affected by confidentiality restriction from September 2008 (see paragraphs 9.37 and 9.38 in Confidential Commodities List for more details).

6.29 DFAT also publish a full range of country balances in its Composition of Trade, Australia publication. Interested users should refer to the DFAT website.