International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

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

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Reference period
April 2023
Released
8/06/2023
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Key statistics

  • The seasonally adjusted balance on goods and services surplus decreased $3,664m in April. 
  • Goods and services credits (exports) fell $2,961m (5.0%) driven by Metal ores and minerals. 
  • Goods and services debits (imports) rose $703m (1.6%) driven by Civil aircraft and confidentialised items.

Monthly Travel Services debits (imports) estimates now labelled as preliminary

The ABS is now labelling the monthly estimates of Travel Service debits as preliminary.

Recent changes in traveller spending patterns has increased the uncertainty of monthly Travel Service debit estimates. With this comes a higher risk of revisions. Please use caution when interpreting the preliminary estimates particularly estimates for the latest month.   

The ABS calculates monthly estimates by using:

Quarterly travel services debits published in the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia and the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product are unaffected as all the data sources are available in time for publishing these estimates.

For more information about the compilation of monthly and quarterly Travel Services please see Enhancing Trade in Services quarterly statistics | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

Trade overview

Key Figures, Seasonally Adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Balance on goods and services14,07314,82211,158-3,664na
 Credits (Exports of goods & services)56,80659,13856,177-2,961-5.0
 Debits (Imports of goods & services)-42,733-44,316-45,0197031.6

na not applicable
 

Balance on goods and services

In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $11,158m in April 2023, an decrease of $3,664m on the surplus in March 2023. 

Balance on goods and services(a), seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)

Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)

Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)

Balance on goods and services14,07314,82211,158-3,664na
 Total goods and services credits56,80659,13856,177-2,961-5.0
  Total goods credits48,90551,04847,459-3,589-7.0
  Total services credits7,9028,0908,7186287.8
 Total goods and services debits-42,733-44,316-45,0197031.6
  Total goods debits-34,533-35,897-36,2893921.1
  Total services debits-8,200-8,419-8,7313123.7

na not applicable
a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
 

Goods and services credits

Goods credits (exports), seasonally adjusted

a. 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
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Total goods credits48,90551,04847,459-3,589-7.0
 General merchandise46,72248,99445,812-3,182-6.5
  Rural goods5,9926,7366,111-625-9.3
  Non-rural goods40,72942,25839,701-2,557-6.1
 Net exports of goods under merchanting(a)242518-7-28.0
 Non-monetary gold(a)2,1592,0291,629-400-19.7

a. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
 

Rural goods

Rural goods fell $625m (9.3%), driven by Other rural, down $556m (20.0%). 

Rural goods, seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Rural goods5,9926,7366,111-625-9.3
 Meat and meat preparations1,4021,5431,632895.8
 Cereal grains and cereal preparations1,8532,1151,978-137-6.5
 Wool and sheepskins249297274-23-7.7
 Other rural(a)2,4882,7822,226-556-20.0

a. For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Other non-rural.
 

Non-rural goods

Non-rural goods fell $2,557m (6.1%), driven by Metal ores and minerals, down $1,746m (10.4%). 

Non-rural goods, seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Non-rural goods40,72942,25839,701-2,557-6.1
 Metal ores and minerals15,06116,83015,084-1,746-10.4
 Coal, coke and briquettes10,40710,5119,769-742-7.1
 Other mineral fuels8,8828,4128,5711591.9
 Metals (excl. non-monetary gold)1,2551,3691,124-245-17.9
 Machinery1,1491,1041,135312.8
 Transport equipment3843784305213.8
 Other manufactures2,2412,2302,217-13-0.6
 Other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages)(a)1,0801,1731,130-43-3.7
 Goods procured in ports by carriers(b)271251241-10-4.0

a. For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Other non-rural.  
b. 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.

Services credits

Services credits, seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Total services credits7,9028,0908,7186287.8
 Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(a)-----
 Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(a)365-1-16.7
 Transport54758559050.9
  Passenger(b)15319119652.6
  Freight(c)37363712.8
  Other216216211-5-2.3
  Postal and courier services(d)14114114653.5
 Travel4,5884,7475,40165413.8
 Other services2,7642,7522,722-30-1.1
Memorandum item     
 Tourism related services credits(e)4,7424,9385,59866013.4

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
b. Passenger transportation services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
c. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
d. Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
e. For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see the methodology page.
 

Goods and services debits

Goods debits (imports), seasonally adjusted

a. 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
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Total goods debits-34,533-35,897-36,2893921.1
 General merchandise debits-33,748-35,155-35,8426872.0
  Consumption goods-10,063-11,547-11,630830.7
  Capital goods-8,623-8,451-9,0566057.2
  Intermediate and other merchandise goods-15,062-15,157-15,156-10.0
 Non-monetary gold(b)-785-742-447-295-39.8

a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
b. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
 

Consumption goods

Consumption goods rose $83m (0.7%), driven by Food and beverages, mainly for consumption, up $139m (8.5%).

Consumption goods(a), seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Consumption goods-10,063-11,547-11,630830.7
 Food and beverages, mainly for consumption-1,432-1,632-1,7711398.5
 Household electrical items-617-616-606-10-1.6
 Non-industrial transport equipment-2,486-3,159-3,095-64-2.0
 Textiles, clothing and footwear-1,788-1,921-1,895-26-1.4
 Toys, books and leisure goods-695-701-725243.4
 Consumption goods n.e.s.-3,046-3,519-3,538190.5

a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page

Capital goods

Capital goods rose $605m (7.2%), driven by Civil aircraft and confidentialised items, up $330m (103.4%).

Capital goods(a), seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Capital goods-8,623-8,451-9,0566057.2
 Machinery and industrial equipment-2,921-3,055-3,1981434.7
 ADP equipment-1,117-1,052-1,047-5-0.5
 Telecommunications equipment-1,509-1,371-1,313-58-4.2
 Civil aircraft and confidentialised items(b)(c)-510-319-649330103.4
 Industrial transport equipment n.e.s.-1,307-1,403-1,60820514.6
 Capital goods n.e.s.(d)-1,258-1,252-1,241-11-0.9

a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
b. 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.
c. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
d. 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 $1m (0.0%), driven by Fuels and lubricants, down $93m (1.8%). 

Intermediate and other merchandise goods(a), seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Intermediate and other merchandise goods-15,062-15,157-15,156-10.0
 Food and beverages, mainly for industry-233-236-23931.3
 Primary industrial supplies n.e.s.(b)-189-216-190-26-12.0
 Fuels and lubricants(c)-5,007-5,074-4,981-93-1.8
 Parts for transport equipment-1,392-1,398-1,441433.1
 Parts for ADP equipment-71-84-74-10-11.9
 Other parts for capital goods-1,973-2,006-2,086804.0
 Organic and inorganic chemicals-534-541-515-26-4.8
 Paper and paperboard-213-235-23720.9
 Textile yarn and fabrics-129-138-149118.0
 Iron and steel-341-359-36782.2
 Plastics-435-456-455-1-0.2
 Processed industrial supplies n.e.s.-4,361-4,264-4,174-90-2.1
 Other merchandise goods(d)-77-49-621326.5
 Goods procured in ports by carriers(e)-108-103-1868380.6

a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
b. From July 2010, this series is not seasonally adjusted.
c. Prior to October 2011, this series was not seasonally adjusted.
d. 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.
e. Prior to April 2010, this series was not seasonally adjusted.
 

Services debits

Services debits(a), seasonally adjusted
 Feb-23 ($m)Mar-23 ($m)Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 ($m)Mar-23 to Apr-23 (%)
Total services debits-8,200-8,419-8,7313123.7
 Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(b)-----
 Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(b)-46-43-25-18-41.9
 Transport-2,279-2,297-2,352552.4
  Passenger(c)-682-689-687-2-0.3
  Freight-1,527-1,538-1,559211.4
  Other(b)-50-50-904080.0
  Postal and courier services(d)(e)-20-20-16-4-20.0
 Travel(f)-2,441-2,629-2,8742459.3
 Other services-3,434-3,450-3,480300.9
Memorandum item     
 Tourism related services debits(g)-3,123-3,317-3,5602437.3

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
b. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
c. Passenger services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
d. Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
e. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
f. Monthly estimates of Travel Service debits are now labelled preliminary.
g. For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see the methodology page.
 

Supplementary information

Selected commodities

Selected commodities, quantities (a)
 Nov-22 (%)Dec-22 (%)Jan-23 (%)Feb-23 (%)Mar-23 (%)Apr-23 (%)
Iron ore - Lump1.78.5-8.1-17.717.2-5.2
Iron ore - Fines1.25.9-7.7-13.419.7-11.3
Coal - Hard coking5.32.2-15.5-13.626.3-0.6
Coal - Semi-soft6.04.2-14.9-22.020.95.3
Coal - Thermal-9.228.7-12.0-9.223.9-10.2
Gas - LNG-4.92.7-0.6-5.97.8-6.2

a. Data in this table is on a revised international merchandise trade basis.
 

Selected commodities, unit values (a)
 Nov-22 (%)Dec-22 (%)Jan-23 (%)Feb-23 (%)Mar-23 (%)Apr-23 (%)
Iron ore - Lump-7.511.66.24.42.7-0.3
Iron ore - Fines-3.013.98.02.95.0-2.5
Coal - Hard coking-0.4-3.4-3.518.62.5-29.0
Coal - Semi-soft-7.7-1.8-4.05.6-1.1-8.8
Coal - Thermal-2.7-10.3-6.7-9.2-20.6-4.4
Gas - LNG-14.70.9-0.6-12.2-5.6-10.0

a. 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 March 2023 and April 2023 the largest movements recorded for the following selected commodities were:

Iron ore (lump), movement by country, Mar-23 to Apr-23
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (lump) - Total movement-165-5.5-5.2-0.3
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)-329-13.0-11.5-1.7
Indonesia-21-70.8-69.2-5.2
Taiwan2623.731.2-5.7
Vietnam40515.2529.9-2.3
Korea, Republic of (South)95129.9125.61.9

 

Iron ore (fines), movement by country, Mar-23 to Apr-23
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (fines) - Total movement-1,230-13.5-11.3-2.5
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)-1,223-15.4-11.9-4.0
Indonesia-61-50.9-51.71.6
Malaysia-28-62.3-65.59.3
Japan216.3-10.518.7
Vietnam4343.837.74.4

 

Hard coking (high rank) coal, movement by country, Mar-23 to Apr-23
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
High rank coal - Total movement-1,131-29.4-0.6-29.0
India-425-33.73.0-35.6
Japan-298-38.4-8.8-32.4
Netherlands-223-53.3-21.4-40.6
Vietnam-88-41.2-10.7-34.2
Spain125---

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Semi soft coal, movement by country, Mar-23 to Apr-23
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Semi soft coal - Total movement-58-4.05.3-8.8
Japan-148-28.1-19.4-10.8
Netherlands-95-77.5-81.421.2
Spain-52-100.0-100.0-
Korea, Republic of (South)9032.552.0-12.9
France (includes Andorra and Monaco)100---

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Thermal coal, movement by country, Mar-23 to Apr-23
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Thermal coal - Total movement-662-14.2-10.2-4.4
Japan-849-36.2-34.4-2.7
Korea, Republic of (South)-135-41.0-39.9-1.8
Vietnam-89-38.1-35.3-4.3
Singapore84524.9448.014.0
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)17228.416.710.0

 

Liquid Natural Gas, total movement, Mar-23 to Apr-23
 Value ($m)Value (%)Quantity (%)Unit Value (%)
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) - Total movement-1,111-15.6-6.2-10.0

 

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

Goods credits on an international merchandise trade basis

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

Iron Ore Adjustment, Original Terms
 Oct-22($m)Nov-22($m)Dec-22($m)Jan-23($m)Feb-23($m)Mar-23($m)Apr-23($m)
Iron ore lump0020150-75-25
Iron ore fines-53520101065-100

Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

Coal (in original terms)

On a balance of payments basis, adjustments have been applied to the coal, coke and briquettes component in November (+$10m), December (+$35m) 2022, January (+$60m), February (+$55m), March (+$1,480m) and April (+$1,450m) 2023  This adjustment takes into account additional information on the unit value of hard coking, semi-soft and thermal coal exports. All previous adjustments have been removed.

In the international merchandise trade series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes fell 10.2% between February 2023 and March 2023 and fell 13.9% between March 2023 and April 2023.

In the balance of payments series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes fell 2.8% between February 2023 and March 2023 and fell 6.7% between March 2023 and April 2023.

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 actual final transaction prices become available 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.

Revisions

Revisions have been made to incorporate the latest data relating to International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia since the last issue of this publication.

On an international merchandise trade basis, exports and imports of goods have been revised back to October 2022.

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

  • Good exports back to October 2022 
  • Good imports back to  January 2023
  • Services exports back to July 2022
  • Services imports back to July 2022

Table 17 summarises revisions to goods and services 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. 

COVID-19 in this publication

Extraordinary Annual Seasonal Review (EASR)

In early 2020, the ABS advised that the method used to produce seasonally adjusted estimates would be changed from the ‘concurrent adjustment’ method to the ‘forward factors’ method for series with significant and prolonged impacts from COVID-19. This process ensured that disruption to series caused by COVID-19 did not unduly affect estimates of the seasonal factors. Further information can be found here: Methods changes during COVID-19 period. Given the ongoing disruption during the COVID-19 period and continuing use of forward factors, extraordinary annual reviews of seasonally adjusted series were introduced across the ABS statistics programs.

The extraordinary annual review process assesses each series individually to determine how observations from 2020, 2021 and 2022 should be treated and determine the most appropriate approach (concurrent adjustment or forward factors) for estimating seasonal adjustment factors in the immediate future. For some series, reverting back to the concurrent seasonal adjustment method from forward factors may result in larger revisions as the forward factors are annually updated from previous year’s observations.  

From the March 2023 publication onwards, the forward factors method will no longer be used and the concurrent seasonal adjustment method has been reinstated for all monthly Balance of Payments series. 

Suspension of trend estimates

The trend series attempts to measure underlying behaviour in international trade activity. In the short term, this measurement will be significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent changes to regular patterns in international trade resulting from it. If the trend estimates in this publication were to be calculated without fully accounting for this unusual event, they would provide a misleading view of underlying international trade activity.

It may be some time before the underlying trend in international trade activity can be accurately estimated. The trend series has therefore been suspended for Services credits and debits from March 2019 and will be reinstated when more certainty emerges.

The trend series for Goods credits and debits have been reviewed and reinstated.

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  • Table 18. Balance of payments broad economic categories (detailed level), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)

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  • Table 19. Balance of payments broad economic categories (1 and 2 digit), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5368.0.

Methodology

International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia methodology, April 2023