Foreword

Australia’s economic activities in COVID-19 compared to other economies

Australia’s key economic indicators 2017-18 to 2019-20

		2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
GDP and Trade (a)
Gross domestic product(b)	% change	3	2.2	-0.3
Exports of goods & services(b)	% change	4.1	4	-1.9
Imports of goods & services(b)	% change	7.3	0.2	-7.4
Net exports contribution to GDP	% points	-0.6	0.9	1.1
Labour force
Population(c)	‘000	24,983	25,366	25,687
Labour force(d)	‘000	13,159	13,421	13,554
Employed persons(d)	‘000	12,437	12,734	12,793
- Annual growth	%	3	2.4	0.5
Unemployment rate(d)	%	5.5	5.1	5.6
Prices and interest rates
Consumer prices	% change	2.1	1.6	-0.3
Interest rates - 90 day bills(d)	% pa	1.8	1.9	0.7
(a) Reference year 2018-19.
(b) Derived from annual movements in original data.
(c) At end June.
(d) Derived from original data on an annual average.
Based on ABS and Reserve Bank, various catalogues.

Australia’s industry structure 2019-20

	Gross value added(a)		Employed persons(b)
	$m	% share(c)	'000	% share
Agriculture, forestry & fishing	37,683	2	333.6	2.6
Mining	206,796	11.1	238.6	1.9
Manufacturing	113,561	6.1	886.7	6.9
Services	1,336,304	71.9	11,312.50	88.6
Electricity, gas, water & waste	47,333	2.5	155.8	1.2
Construction	142,331	7.7	1,179.00	9.2
Wholesale trade	75,152	4	391.9	3.1
Retail trade	81,473	4.4	1,235.60	9.7
Accommodation & food services	39,623	2.1	851.6	6.7
Transport, postal & warehousing	89,284	4.8	641	5
Information, media & telecommunications	43,716	2.4	205	1.6
Financial & insurance services	165,278	8.9	466.9	3.7
Rental, hiring & real estate	53,685	2.9	214.4	1.7
Professional, scientific & technical	141,431	7.6	1,147.80	9
Administrative & support	66,184	3.6	438	3.4
Public administration & safety	106,553	5.7	827.5	6.5
Education & training	94,776	5.1	1,084.90	8.5
Health care & social assistance	143,730	7.7	1,762.40	13.8
Arts & recreation	15,270	0.8	225.8	1.8
Other services	30,485	1.6	484.9	3.8
Ownership of dwellings	164,547	8.9
Gross value added at basic prices(d)	1,819,368	100.0
Taxes less subsidies on products and statistical discrepancy	1,858,892
Total (e)	1,985,438		12,771	100.0
(a) Based on current price GDP. Industry breakdown based on ANZSIC 2006.
(b) Derived from original data on an annual average. Year ended June 2019.
(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.
(e) GDP at purchasers' (market) prices is derived by adding Taxes less subsidies on products and Statistical discrepancy to Gross value added at basic prices.
Based on ABS catalogues 5206.0, 6202.0 and 6203.0.

Australia’s trade and investment framework

Australia takes an active and ambitious multilateral, regional and bilateral Australia will is an outward-looking, open, and sovereign trading nation. Australia’s prosperity is underpinned through enhanced competitiveness, open, diverse and resilient markets, and a rules-based trading system. In the COVID-19 recovery phase, the Australian Government’s focus is ensuring we obtain the full benefits of open trade and investment settings. This is achieved by expanding the options for our exporters in key markets; strengthening and modernising the rules-based international trading system; and promoting the high quality of Australian goods and services overseas.

Our continued engagement with other countries on a bilateral, regional and multilateral basis, including through the World Trade Organization (WTO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and G20, aims to protect and advance Australia’s trade and investment interests.

We are also identifying and seeking to address measures introduced by other countries that create unnecessary trade barriers for Australian traders, including COVID-19 measures. Businesses can report export barriers at tradebarriers.gov.au.

Free trade agreements

On 15 November 2020, Ministers from Australia and 14 other countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. This is a regional free trade agreement that will complement and build upon Australia’s other agreements with 14 other Indo-Pacific countries. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a modern and comprehensive FTA covering trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical cooperation. It also contains trade rules relating to electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, and small and medium sized enterprises. Australia will work towards ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in 2021.

The Australian Government will continue to expand and strengthen our network of free trade agreements. In 2021, Australia will negotiate new free trade agreements, including separate negotiations with the United Kingdom and European Union. Work is also underway on an upgrade to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA).

For more information on Australia’s free trade agreements, including those agreements under negotiation, visit: fta.gov.au

The FTA Portal is a free website providing easy-to-access information that helps Australians import and export using free trade agreements. Find it at: ftaportal.dfat.gov.au

Alternative text for timeline graph

1983

• Australia - New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement

2003

• Singapore - Australia Free Trade Agreement

2005

• Thailand - Australia Free Trade Agreement
• Australia - United States Free Trade Agreement

2009

• Australia - Chile Free Trade Agreement

2010

• ASEAN - Australia - New Zealand Free Trade Agreement

2013

• Malaysia - Australia Free Trade Agreement

2014

• Korea - Australia Free Trade Agreement

2015

• China - Australia Free Trade Agreement
• Japan - Australia Economic Partnership Agreement

2018

• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

2020

• Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations PACER Plus Indonesia - Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
• Peru - Australia Free Trade Agreement
• Australia - Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement

Australia’s trade balance

Australia’s trade balance is the difference between what we export and what we import.

It is calculated by subtracting the value of the goods and services Australia buys from overseas from the value of the goods and services we sell to other countries.

As of December 2020, Australia had a positive trade balance of $6,785 million (seasonally adjusted).

Australia’s trade balance over time

The graph below shows the variation in Australia’s monthly trade balance over the past few years and reflects the minimal impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on trade during 2020.

Alternative text for Australia’s trade balance over time graph

Date	$ million
1/01/2017	1328
1/02/2017	3244
1/03/2017	2267
1/04/2017	-376
1/05/2017	1893
1/06/2017	1007
1/07/2017	144
1/08/2017	403
1/09/2017	854
1/10/2017	238
1/11/2017	263
1/12/2017	-1600
1/01/2018	915
1/02/2018	1279
1/03/2018	767
1/04/2018	953
1/05/2018	865
1/06/2018	1544
1/07/2018	1890
1/08/2018	2004
1/09/2018	2844
1/10/2018	2450
1/11/2018	2960
1/12/2018	4280
1/01/2019	4509
1/02/2019	5117
1/03/2019	4460
1/04/2019	4460
1/05/2019	6074
1/06/2019	7828
1/07/2019	8646
1/08/2019	6789
1/09/2019	6538
1/10/2019	4372
1/11/2019	6050
1/12/2019	5535
1/01/2020	4728
1/02/2020	2886
1/03/2020	9636
1/04/2020	7798
1/05/2020	7098
1/06/2020	7484
1/07/2020	4723
1/08/2020	3110
1/09/2020	5829
1/10/2020	6737
1/11/2020	5707
1/12/2020	7133
1/01/2021	10142

Source: www.dfat.gov.au/trade/resources/trade-statistics/Pages/australias-trade-balance

Two-way trade

Asia continues to dominate Australia’s two-way trade flows with 65.2 per cent of the market. China remains our major two-way trading partner. Japan, Republic of Korea and ASEAN also offer significant market opportunities for Australian businesses especially as these economies rebound from COVID-19.

Australia’s two-way trade by region 2019-20

Alternative text for Australia’s two-way trade by region 2019-20 graph

Region	$Billion	%Percentage
China	251.1	Asia - 65.2%
Japan	79.1
Republic of Korea	38.9
ASEAN	113.9
Other Asia	86.6
Europe	128	Other - 34.8%
Americas	101.6
Oceania	39.5
Africa	9.8
Other (a)	24.6

Regional breakdowns:

• Asia includes Central Asia; Middle East; North Asia; South East Asia and Southern Asia. Europe includes Eastern Europe; Northern Europe; South Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and Western Europe.
• Americas includes North America; the Caribbean; Central America and South America.
• Oceania includes Antarctica and Pacific Island countries and territories.
• Africa includes Central and West Africa; North Africa and Southern and East Africa.

(a) Includes confidential items of trade.

Based on ABS catalogues 5368.0 and 5368.0.55.003 and unpublished ABS data.

Australia’s top two-way trading partners 2019-20

Australia’s top ten trading partners in order were China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, Singapore, New Zealand, India, Germany and Malaysia.

China remained our largest two-way trading partner with a 28 per cent share of our two-way trade valued at just over $250 billion. The United States moved up as our second two-way trading partner, replacing Japan, but with only nine per cent of the market valued at $80 billion. The United Kingdom moved up from seventh to become our fifth two-way trading partner replacing Singapore who moved to sixth.

Australia’s top 10 two-way trading partners 2019-20

($ billion)
Rank	Trading partners(a)(b)	Goods	Services	Total	% share
1	China	232.4	18.7	251.1	28.8
2	United States	55.4	25.4	80.8	9.2
3	Japan	73	6.1	79.1	9.1
4	Republic of Korea	36.5	2.4	38.9	4.5
5	United Kingdom	22.8	13.9	36.7	4.2
6	Singapore	21.7	9.6	31.3	3.6
7	New Zealand	17.6	11.1	28.7	3.3
8	India	15.7	10.6	26.2	3
9	Germany	17.3	4.5	21.8	2.5
10	Malaysia	18.2	3.4	21.6	2.5
	Total top 10 trading partners	510.5	105.6	616.1	70.6
	Total two-way trade(c)	693.8	179.4	873.1	100
of which	APEC	543.4	102	645.4	73.9
	ASEAN	87.1	26.7	113.8	13
	EU28	58.7	20	78.7	9
	OECD	281.3	86.7	368	42.1
(a) All data is on a balance of payments basis, except for goods by country which are on a recorded trade basis.
(b) May exclude selected confidential export and import commodities. Refer to the DFAT website for more information and a list of the excluded commodities.
(c) Totals may not add due to rounding.
Based on ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database, ABS catalogue 5368.0.55.003 and unpublished ABS data.

Exports

Despite disruptions to supply chains due to COVID-19, including border closures and other responses by Australia and our trading partners, exports remained steady. Australians exported just under $475 billion worth of goods and services worldwide during the 2019-20 reporting period with China remaining our largest market.

Australia’s exports(a)(b)

Alternative text for Australia’s exports graph

Financial year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
$ billion	257.8	303.7	322.1	306.6	336.3	324.7	319.7	373.7	403.4	470.8	475.2

(a) Balance of payments basis.

(b) By value.

Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Australia’s top 10 export markets 2019-20

($ billion)
Rank	Markets(a)(b)	Goods	Services	Total	% share
1	China	151.4	16.2	167.6	35.3
2	Japan	53.8	2.4	56.2	11.8
3	Republic of Korea	25.9	1.8	27.6	5.8
4	United States	17.9	9.5	27.4	5.8
5	United Kingdom	15.8	5.1	21	4.4
6	India	10.9	7.7	18.6	3.9
7	Singapore	12.5	4.5	17	3.6
8	New Zealand	10.1	5.6	15.7	3.3
9	Taiwan	11.8	1.1	13	2.7
10	Malaysia	8.2	2.3	10.5	2.2
	Total top 10 markets	318.3	56.3	374.6	78.8
	Total exports(c)	383	92.3	475.2	100
of which	APEC	323.6	53.9	377.5	79.4
	ASEAN	39.8	12.8	52.7	11.1
	EU28	11.7	7.1	18.8	4
	OECD	140.8	35.1	175.9	37
(a) All data is on a balance of payments basis, except for goods by country which are on a recorded trade basis.
(b) May exclude selected confidential export and import commodities. Refer to the DFAT website (www.dfat.gov.au/trade/resources/trade-statistics/Pages/trade-time-seriesdata) for more information and a list of the excluded commodities.
(c) Totals may not add due to rounding.
Based on ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database, ABS catalogue 5368.0.55.003 and unpublished ABS data.

Australia’s global export ranking 2019

How we compare with the rest of the world (US$ billion)
Rank	Economy	Goods(a)	Services(b)	Total exports	% share
1	China	2,499	283	2,783	11.1
2	United States	1,643	876	2,519	10
3	Germany	1,489	341	1,830	7.3
4	Netherlands	709	264	974	3.9
5	Japan	706	205	911	3.6
6	United Kingdom	470	416	886	3.5
7	France	571	288	859	3.4
8	Italy	533	122	655	2.6
9	Republic of Korea	542	102	645	2.6
10	Hong Kong(a)	535	101	636	2.5
11	Singapore	391	205	596	2.4
12	Belgium	445	121	566	2.3
13	Canada	447	100	547	2.2
14	India	324	214	539	2.1
15	Spain	334	158	492	2
22	Australia	272	71	343	1.4
	Total exports	18,933	6,144	25,077	100
(a) Goods on recorded trade basis.
(b) Services on balance of payments basis.
(c) Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: WTO online database.

Australia’s exports by sector (a) 2019-20

Alternative text for Australia’s exports by sector 2019-20 graph

Sector	$Billion
Minerals & Fuels	245.8
Services	92.3
Rural	46.7
Manufactures	52.3
Gold	25.7
Other Goods	12.4

(a) Balance of payments basis.

Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Services and technology are embedded in all of Australia’s export sectors. Land transport and electricity services used in the mining and export of resources are reflected in trade on a ‘value added’ basis. On a ‘gross exports’ basis, which is the more common statistical practice, these values are not separately identified. However, using the value added measure, Australia’s domestic services industries account for over 45 per cent of the value of exports.

Australia’s top 20 exports 2019-20

Rank	Commodity(a)	$ million	% share	% change
1	Iron ores & concentrates	102,864	21.6	32.7
2	Coal	54,620	11.5	-21.5
3	Natural gas	47,525	10	-4.4
4	Education-related travel services(b)	39,661	8.3	4.9
5	Gold	24,394	5.1	29.3
6	Personal travel (excl education) services	16,368	3.4	-27.1
7	Beef	11,258	2.4	18.8
8	Aluminium ores & concentrates (incl alumina)	8,875	1.9	-21.9
9	Crude petroleum	8,568	1.8	0.9
10	Copper ores & concentrates	6,854	1.4	14.8
11	Professional services	6,107	1.3	9.2
12	Telecom, computer & information services	5,909	1.2	17
13	Financial services	5,696	1.2	14.7
14	Meat (excl beef)	5,520	1.2	7.2
15	Technical & other business services	5,154	1.1	9.3
16	Wheat	3,847	0.8	5.2
17	Aluminium	3,761	0.8	-11.5
18	Other ores & concentrates(c)	3,678	0.8	4.4
19	Pharm products (excl medicaments)	3,631	0.8	22.9
20	Copper	3,433	0.7	-12.8
	Total exports(d)	475,240	100	0.9
(a) Goods trade is on a recorded trade basis. Services trade is on a balance of payments basis.
(b) Includes student expenditure on tuition fees and living expenses.
(c) Mainly of Lead, Zinc and Manganese ores & concentrates.
(d) Total exports on a balance of payments basis.
Based on ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Minerals and fuels sector

In 2019-20, minerals and fuels remained Australia’s largest export sectors. Australia’s exports of iron ore and concentrates, coal and natural gas remained as our top three exports overall. Whilst iron ore recorded an increase of 32.7 per cent, coal and natural gas declined 21.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

Through its Critical Minerals Strategy, the Government is committed to realising Australia’s critical minerals potential and positioning Australia as a trusted and first-choice supplier of critical minerals. Work is well underway across government to attract investment and secure offtake of these minerals, including collaboration with key international partners.

Australia’s minerals and fuels exports (a) (b)

Alternative text for Australia’s minerals and fuels exports graph

Financial year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
$ billion	109.413	147.177	159.333	144.436	165.853	142.782	126.506	168.173	189.467	239.803	245.849

(a) Balance of payments basis.

(b) By value.

Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Australia’s top 20 minerals and fuels exports 2019-20

Rank	Commodity(a)(b)	$ million	% share	% change
1	Iron ores & concentrates	102,864	41.8	32.7
2	Coal	54,620	22.2	-21.5
3	Natural gas	47,525	19.3	-4.4
4	Aluminium ores & concentrates (incl alumina)	8,875	3.6	-21.9
5	Crude petroleum	8,568	3.5	0.9
6	Copper ores & concentrates	6,854	2.8	14.8
7	Other ores & concentrates(c)	3,678	1.5	4.4
8	Refined petroleum	2,411	1	-19.8
9	Precious metal ores & conc (excl gold)	1,868	0.8	24.8
10	Liquefied propane & butane	1,623	0.7	54.7
11	Non-ferrous waste & scrap	1,321	0.5	-2.6
12	Crude minerals	1,237	0.5	-26.6
13	Ferrous waste & scrap	953	0.4	-11.3
14	Nickel ores & concentrates	478	0.2	39.8
15	Stone, sand & gravel	154	0.1	0.5
16	Natural abrasives	87	0	-15.8
17	Residual petroleum products	26	0	-28
18	Petroleum gases	17	0	-56.5
19	Crude fertilisers	12	0	15.3
20	Sulphur & iron pyrites	1	0	-38
	Total minerals and fuels exports(d)	245,849	100	2.5
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) Excludes confidential items of trade.
(c) Mainly Zinc ores & concentrates, Manganese ores & concentrates and Lead ores & concentrates.
(d) Total minerals and fuels exports on a balance of payments basis.
Based on ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Services sector - modes of supply

Services trade comprises four modes of supply for services

Impact of COVID-19

The graph below shows a drop in services exports in the March-June 2020 quarter which coincided with the beginnings of international travel restrictions. This drop can be largely attributed to the severe impact of those restrictions on Mode 2 (Tourism and International Student numbers) and Mode 4 where Australian providers travel abroad to deliver services (e.g. health professionals, architects, mining specialists etc). With continuation of international travel restrictions, we can expect to see a rise in mode 1 (Cross-border supply via digital technology) as businesses innovate and adapt their service delivery models to digital platforms.

Australia’s services exports (a)(b)

Alternative text for Australia’s services exports graph

Financial year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
$ billion	55.961	56.652	56.349	57.708	62.502	69.210	75.676	82.318	88.049	97.301	92.261

(a) Balance of payments basis.

(b) By value.

Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Australia’s services exports(a) 2019-20

	$ million	% share	% change
Manufactured services on physical inputs owned by others	0	0	..
Maintenance & repair	33	0	-26.7
Transport	6,886	7.5	-10.9
Passenger(b)	2,462	2.7	-19.9
Freight	283	0.3	2.2
Other transport	2,608	2.8	-10
Postal & courier services	1,533	1.7	3.7
Travel	55,665	60.3	-11.9
Business	1,984	2.2	-31.1
Personal	53,681	58.2	-10.9
- Education-related	37,338	40.5	-1.3
- Other personal (c)	16,343	17.7	-27.2
Other services	29,677	32.2	12.5
Construction	694	0.8	-28.5
Insurance & pension	667	0.7	6.5
Financial	5,346	5.8	7.6
Intellectual property charges	1,249	1.4	-3.7
Telecommunications, computer & information	5,315	5.8	12.6
Other business services	12,006	13	7.8
Personal, cultural and recreational	3,279	3.6	123.7
Government services	1,121	1.2	-5.8
Total services exports	92,261	100	-5.2
(a) Balance of payments basis.
(b) Passenger services includes air transport-related agency fees & commissions.
(c) Inbound tourism for mainly recreational purposes.
Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Top 10 country of origin, international students in Australia 2019

Alternative text for top 10 country of origin, international students in Australia 2019 graph

Country of Origin,	No. of Students
China	212,264
India	115,607
Nepal	53,723
Brazil	27,366
Vietnam	26,050
Malaysia	24,361
Republic of Korea	21,175
Colombia	20,718
Indonesia	18,091
Thailand	17,498
Other	221,301
Total	758,154

International student numbers

Alternative text for student numbers graph

Year	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Total	491336	468718	425601	401726	410493	452909	497160	553057	622905	692506	758154

During 2019 demand for Australian education services was strong with 758,154 international student enrolments in Australian education institutions. China and India were the top two source countries with 212,264 and 115,607 enrolments respectively.

Australia’s international visitors, year ending June 2020

Rank	Economy	Number of visitors ('000)	% change on 2018-19
1	New Zealand	1,028	-26.9
2	China	900	-37.2
3	United States	582	-28.4
4	United Kingdom	562	-21.8
5	Japan	375	-22.5
6	Singapore	316	-32.1
7	Malaysia	285	-23.4
8	India	259	-33.5
9	Hong Kong(a)	227	-26.6
10	Republic of Korea	192	-31.5
	Other economies	2,011	-24.8
	Total	6,737	-27.9
(a) Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: Department of Home Affairs.

The data above, reflects the immediate impact the closure of Australia’s international borders, from 17 March to 30 June 2020, has had on tourism, one of our largest export markets.

Top 10 economies by expenditure, year ended June 2020

Rank	Economy	Number of visitors ('000)	% change on 2018-19
1	China	8,410	-29.4
2	United States	2,913	-27
3	United Kingdom	2,617	-22.8
4	New Zealand	1,914	-25.8
5	Japan	1,577	-23
6	India	1,380	-21.8
7	Republic of Korea	1,040	-28.7
8	Singapore	1,039	-32.9
9	Hong Kong (a)	1,000	-26.4
10	Germany	941	-18.4
	Other economies	10,500	-21.5
	Total	33,330	-25.2
(a) Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: Tourism Research Australia: International Visitor Survey.

Manufactures sector

Australian manufacturing businesses employ around 900,000 Australians. As COVID-19 restrictions closed borders and disrupted established international supply chains , Australian businesses came up with solutions to meet demand. From gin to hand sanitiser, high fashion to personal protective equipment (PPE) there were many examples of innovative Australian businesses rising to the challenges raised by the pandemic.

Australia’s manufactures exports(a)(b)

Alternative text for Australia’s manufactures exports graph

Financial year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
$ billion	39.160	41.322	41.641	39.552	42.081	43.499	44.651	44.237	46.117	53.985	52.329

(a) Balance of payments basis.

(b) By value.

Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Australia’s top 20 manufactures exports 2019-20

Rank	Commodity(a)(b)	$ million	% share	% change
1	Aluminium	3,761	7.2	-11.5
2	Pharmaceutical products (excl medicaments)	3,631	6.9	22.9
3	Copper	3,433	6.6	-12.8
4	Medicaments (incl veterinary)	2,912	5.6	10.8
5	Telecom equipment & parts	2,499	4.8	13.8
6	Aircraft, spacecraft & parts	2,354	4.5	-7.6
7	Measuring & analysing instruments	2,043	3.9	35
8	Medical instruments (incl veterinary)	1,709	3.3	3.4
9	Zinc	1,302	2.5	-19
10	Nickel	1,142	2.2	-31.7
11	Perfumery & cosmetics (excl soap)	1,071	2	12.6
12	Pigments, paints & varnishes	987	1.9	0.3
13	Computers	975	1.9	7
14	Vehicle parts & accessories	920	1.8	4.4
15	Paper & paperboard	884	1.7	-13.8
16	Civil engineering equipment & parts	813	1.6	11.8
17	Lead	801	1.5	-13.8
18	Specialised machinery & parts	799	1.5	-0.5
19	Jewellery	680	1.3	19.4
20	Starches, inulin & wheat gluten	665	1.3	1.1
	Total manufactures exports(c)	52,329	100	-3.1
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) Excludes confidential items of trade.
(c) Total manufactures exports on a balance of payments basis.
Based on ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Rural sector

Australia’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports

Despite disruptions to major markets, beef remained our strongest agricultural export with a total value of $11,258 million in 2019-20, while other meat exports (excluding beef) and wheat increased by 7.2 and 5.2 per cent respectively.

Australia’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports (a) (b)

Alternative text for Australia’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports graph

Financial year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
$ billion	29.993900	34.259700	38.549600	39.919500	43.431600	46.667100	47.599700	51.869800	52.042800	52.986900	51.863700

(a) Definition of agriculture, forestry and fisheries includes alcoholic beverages as set out in the WTO International Trade Statistics publication.

(b) By value.

Based on ABS catalgoue 5368.0 and ABS special data services.

Australia’s Top 20 agriculture, forestry and fisheries exports 2019-20

Rank	Commodity(a)(b)	$ million	% share	% change
1	Beef	11,258	21.7	18.8
2	Meat (excl beef)	5,520	10.6	7.2
3	Wheat	3,847	7.4	5.2
4	Wine	2,897	5.6	-1.8
5	Edible products & preparations	2,757	5.3	-6.3
6	Fruit & nuts	2,523	4.9	4.2
7	Wool & other animal hair (incl tops)	2,516	4.9	-34.1
8	Live animals (excl seafood)	2,231	4.3	14
9	Sugars, molasses & honey	1,776	3.4	11.9
10	Vegetables	1,471	2.8	23.2
11	Milk, cream, whey & yoghurt	1,451	2.8	5.8
12	Animal feed	1,375	2.7	-2.1
13	Wood in chips or particles	1,238	2.4	-22.5
14	Oil-seeds & oleaginous fruits, soft	1,188	2.3	19.1
15	Barley	1,028	2	-25.6
16	Cheese & curd	985	1.9	-0.4
17	Cotton	964	1.9	-62.3
18	Cereal preparations	925	1.8	-0.5
19	Crustaceans	803	1.5	-21.4
20	Wood, rough	592	1.1	-9.5
	Total agriculture, forestry & fisheries exports(c)	51,864	100	-2.1
(a) Recorded trade basis.
(b) Excludes confidential items of trade except sugar.
(c) Definition of agriculture, forestry and fisheries includes alcoholic beverages as set out in the WTO International Trade Statistics publication.
Based on ABS catalogue 5368.0 and ABS special data services.

Imports

Australia’s imports fell by over 5.7 per cent during 2019-20 due to travel related and other restrictions. Total value fell from $421.4 billion in 2018-2019 to $397.9 billion in 2019-2020.

Personal travel services received by Australians abroad was the largest hit with a decline of 28.1 per cent.

Australia’s imports (a)(b)

Alternative text for Australia’s imports graph

Financial year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
$ billion	271.2	290	325.8	326.5	343.2	349.4	357.5	363.3	396.3	421.8	397.9

(a) Balance of payments basis.

(b) By value.

Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Australia’s top 20 imports 2019-20

Rank	Commodity(a)(b)	$ million	% share	% change
1	Personal travel (excl education) services	33,288	8.4	-28.1
2	Refined petroleum	21,721	5.5	-13.4
3	Passenger motor vehicles	19,093	4.8	-11.5
4	Telecom equipment & parts	15,230	3.8	4.4
5	Computers	10,398	2.6	6.5
6	Freight services	10,363	2.6	2.5
7	Crude petroleum	9,474	2.4	-29.4
8	Gold	8,812	2.2	59.7
9	Professional services	8,291	2.1	7.4
10	Medicaments (incl veterinary)	8,124	2	8.6
11	Goods vehicles	8,075	2	-23.6
12	Pharmaceuticals products (excl medicaments)	6,075	1.5	25.5
13	Telecom, computer & information services	5,952	1.5	24.1
14	Technical & other business services	5,792	1.5	4.3
15	Passenger transport services(c)	5,242	1.3	-30.4
16	Charges for intellectual property	4,914	1.2	-2.1
17	Furniture, mattresses & cushions	4,828	1.2	-3.3
18	Civil engineering equipment & parts	4,453	1.1	-12.4
19	Plastic articles	4,099	1	6.1
20	Electrical machinery & parts	3,954	1	-0.2
	Total imports(d)	397,905	100	-5.7
(a) Goods trade is on a recorded trade basis. Services trade is on a balance of payments basis.
(b) Excludes imports of large aircraft which are treated confidentially by the ABS. DFAT estimates aircraft imports would rank within Australia's top 20 imports with a value around $4.6 billion in 2018-19. .
(c) Includes Related agency fees & commissions.
(d) Total imports on a balance of payments basis.
Based on ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database and ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

Australia’s top 10 import sources 2019-20

($ billion)
Rank	Sources(a)(b)	Goods	Services	Total	% share
1	China	81	2.4	83.4	21
2	United States	37.4	15.9	53.4	13.4
3	Japan	19.2	3.7	23	5.8
4	Germany	13.7	3	16.7	4.2
5	Thailand	14.6	1.8	16.3	4.1
6	United Kingdom	7	8.8	15.7	4
7	Singapore	9.2	5.1	14.3	3.6
8	New Zealand	7.5	5.5	13	3.3
9	Republic of Korea	10.6	0.6	11.2	2.8
10	Malaysia	10.1	1.1	11.2	2.8
Total top 10 sources		210.3	47.8	258.1	64.9
Total imports(c)		310.8	87.1	397.9	100
of which:	APEC	219.9	48.1	267.9	67.3
	ASEAN	47.3	13.8	61.1	15.4
	EU (excl UK)	47	12.9	59.9	15.1
	OECD	140.4	51.6	192.1	48.3
(a) All data is on a balance of payments basis, except for goods by country which are on a recorded trade basis.
(b) May exclude selected confidential import commodities. Refer to the DFAT website (http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/trade-investment/Pages/dfat-adjustments-to-abs-official-trade-data) for more information and a list of the commodities excluded.
(c) Totals may not add due to rounding.
Based on ABS trade data on DFAT STARS database, ABS catalogue 5368.0.55.003 and unpublished ABS data.

Australia’s imports by sector(a) 2019-20

Alternative text for Australia’s imports by sector 2019-20 graph

Sector	$Billion
Intermediate & other	125.4
Consumption goods	103.2
Services	87.1
Capital goods	73.3
Gold	8.9

(a) Balance of payments basis.

Based on ABS catalogues 5302.0 & 5368.0.

The largest share of Australia’s imports by sector were intermediate goods, comprising raw materials and components used by Australian firms to make goods for domestic and export markets.

Australia’s global import ranking 2019

How we compare with the rest of the world (US$ billion)
Rank	Economy	Goods(a)	Services(b)	Total imports	% share
1	United States	2,567	588	3,156	12.6
2	China	2,078	501	2,579	10.3
3	Germany	1,234	365	1,599	6.4
4	United Kingdom	696	284	980	3.9
5	Japan	721	204	925	3.7
6	France	654	263	917	3.7
7	Netherlands	635	246	882	3.5
8	India	486	179	665	2.7
9	Hong Kong (c)	578	79	657	2.6
10	Republic of Korea	503	126	630	2.5
11	Italy	474	124	598	2.4
12	Canada	464	115	579	2.3
13	Singapore	359	199	558	2.2
14	Belgium	426	120	547	2.2
15	Mexico	467	36	504	2
23	Australia	224	72	296	1.2
	Total imports	19,263	5,826	25,090
(a) Goods on recorded trade basis.
(b) Services on balance of payments basis.
(c) Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: WTO online database.

Australia’s investment landscape

Foreign investment plays an important role in the Australian economy by promoting economic activity.

There are several types of foreign investment: direct, portfolio (for example, purchase of shares and securities) and ’s investment (for example loans and reserve assets). Foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs when a foreign individual or entity establishes a new business or acquires 10 per cent or more share of a local enterprise and has some control over its operations.

FDI through both majority and minority ownership supports 1 in 10 jobs in Australia. Businesses with foreign investment generated around 40 per cent of Australia’s total exports, worth around $132 billion. FDI has given the Australian economy depth and resilience, it has stimulated growth, and it has added to prosperity by enabling jobs, services and opportunities for Australians.

Australia will continue to welcome foreign investment as we reshape Australia’s economy in the rebound from COVID. The global marketplace for foreign investment is competitive. Businesses seeking investment must show the potential for an attractive return. Austrade assists by engaging with investors to promote Australia’s long-term positive fundamentals and opportunities in priority sectors such as advanced manufacturing and the circular economy.

Australians expect investment in Australia to be on our terms. The Australian Government ensures that investments are not contrary to the national interest. Through a package of measures and reforms implemented in January 2021, we have strengthened our foreign investment regime to protect national security, streamline non-sensitive investments, and ensure investors comply with conditions they have signed up to.

Inbound investment

The United States and United Kingdom are the biggest investors in Australia, followed by Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong (SAR of China).

China is our ninth largest foreign investor, with 2.0 per cent of the total. However, the levels of Hong Kong (SAR of China) and Chinese investment in Australia have grown significantly over the past decade.

The United States was Australia’s largest foreign investor by a wide margin, accounting for $983.7 billion in investments in Australia at the end of 2019, up 3.6 per cent on 2018.

Australia’s Top 10 investment sources(a) 2019

($ million)
Rank(b)	Country	Direct investment	Total investment(c)
1	United States	205,163	983,742
2	United Kingdom	127,121	686,115
3	Belgium(d)	3,543	348,133
4	Japan	116,102	241,091
5	Hong Kong(e)	16,119	140,726
6	Singapore	36,065	99,916
7	Netherlands	54,788	86,714
8	Luxembourg	8,065	85,464
9	China	45,992	78,152
10	New Zealand	5,591	64,360
Total all economies		1,019,483	3,844,537
of which:	APEC	500,732	1,745,910
	ASEAN	56,596	134,653
	EU (excl UK)	110,959	683,868
	OECD	630,754	2,815,945
(a) Foreign investment in Australia: level of investment (stocks) as at 31 December 2018.
(b) Ranked on level of total investment in Australia.
(c) Includes portfolio investment.
(d) The majority of total investment from Belgium is portfolio investment liabilities in the form of debt securities (Belgium hosts a major clearing house and despository for euro-denominated bonds and other securities, Euroclear).
(e) Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Australia’s inward foreign rirect investment global ranking 2019

How we compare with the rest of the world
Rank	Country	US$b	% change	% share
1	United States	9,466	27.4	26
2	United Kingdom	2,075	7.5	5.7
3	Hong Kong(a)	1,868	-4.9	5.1
4	China	1,769	8.7	4.9
5	Netherlands	1,750	3.8	4.8
6	Singapore	1,698	10.5	4.7
7	Switzerland	1,351	-0.3	3.7
8	Ireland	1,120	12	3.1
9	Canada	1,037	21.7	2.8
10	Germany	953	2	2.6
11	France	869	5.9	2.4
12	British Virgin Islands	826	7.6	2.3
13	Spain	752	2.2	2.1
14	Australia	714	1.8	2
15	Brazil	641	12.7	1.8
	World inward stock	36,470	22.9
Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: UNCTADstat database.

Australia’s top 5 total foreign investment sources 2019(a)

Total foreign investment includes all types of investment: direct, portfolio, financial derivatives, reserve assets and other investment.

Alternative text for Australia’s top 5 total foreign investment sources 2019 graph

Country	United States	United Kingdom	Belgium(a)	Japan	Hong Kong(b)
$ billion	983.7	686.1	348.1	241.1	140.7

(a) The majority of total investment from Belgium is portfolio investment liabilities in the form of debt securities (Belgium hosts a major clearing house and despository for euro-denominated bonds and other securities, Euroclear).

(b) Special Administrative Region of China.

Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Australia’s top 5 foreign direct investment sources 2019(a)

Foreign Direct investment is where an investor acquires 10 per cent or more ownership in a business or asset.

Alternative text for Australia’s top 5 foreign direct investment sources 2019 graph

Country	United States	United Kingdom	Japan	Netherlands	Canada
$ billion	205.2	127.1	116.1	54.8	47.1

(a) Data at year end.

Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Australia’s foreign direct investment by industry 2019(a)

Alternative text for australia’s foreign direct investment by industry 2019 graph

Industry	$Billion
Mining & Quarrying	360.1
Manufacturing	131.4
Financial & Insurance activities	113.2
Real Estate activities	110.9
Wholesale & Retail trade	60.3
Information & Communication	30.5
Other	213.1

(a) Data at year end.

Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Foreign investment in Australia by type 2019(a)

Alternative text for foreign investment in Australia by type 2019 graph

Type	Direct investment	Portfolio investment	Financial derivatives	Other investment (a)
$ billion	1019.5	1996.4	285.8	542.8

(a) Data at year end.

(b) Includes loans, trade credit, currency, deposits and reserve assets.

Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Outbound investment

Australian businesses invest huge amounts of money in other economies. At the end of 2019, the total amount of Australian money invested overseas was around $3.0 trillion.

The United States and the United Kingdom were the top two destinations for Australian investment, followed by Japan and New Zealand as our third and fourth largest destinations.

At the end of 2019, Australian investments in the US totalled $837 billion and our investment in the UK was $507 billion.

Australian investment in Asia has increased dramatically over the past decade. Between 2009 and 2019, our investments to major Asian economies (China, Hong Kong (SAR of China), India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan and all ASEAN members) has increased from $120 billion to $472 billion.

Australia’s top 5 total investment abroad destinations 2019(a)

Alternative text for Australia’s top 5 total investment abroad destinations 2019 graph

Country	United States	United Kingdom	Japan	New Zealand	Germany
$ billion	837.4	507.4	139.6	130.5	97.1

(a) Data at year end.

Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Australia’s top 10 investment destinations(a) 2019

($ million)
Rank(b)	Country	Direct investment	Total investment(c)
1	United States	145,818	837,359
2	United Kingdom	143,461	507,440
3	Japan	1,653	139,567
4	New Zealand	83,608	130,451
5	Germany	np	97,057
6	China	15,511	85,268
7	Singapore	28,112	84,077
8	Canada	35,096	83,400
9	Cayman Islands	np	82,381
10	Hong Kong(d)	7,631	63,426
Total all countries		826,804	2,953,056
of which:	APEC	352,815	1,530,987
	ASEAN	45,448	124,683
	EU (excl UK)	60,003	327,428
	OECD	476,026	2,062,249
(a) Australian investment abroad: level of investment (stocks) as at 31 December 2019.
(b) Ranked on total Australian investment abroad.
(c) Includes portfolio investment.
(d) Special Administrative Region of China. np = not published.
Source: ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Australia’s direct investment abroad by industry 2019(a)(b)

Alternative text for Australia’s direct investment abroad by industry 2019 graph

Industry	$Billion
Manufacturing	197.4
Financial & Insurance activities	192.9
Mining & Quarrying	173.6
Real estate activities	19.1
Human Health & Social Work activites	9.9
Wholesale & Retail trade	9.5
Other	114.3

(a) Data at year end.

(b) Amounts either suppressed by confidentiality or not attributable to a specific category.

Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Australia’s top 5 direct investment abroad destinations 2019(a)

Alternative text for Australia’s top 5 direct investment abroad destinations 2019 graph

Country	United States	United Kingdom	New Zealand	Canada	Bermuda
$ billion	145.8	143.5	83.6	35.1	np

(a) Data at year end.

Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.

Australia’s outward direct investment abroad global ranking 2019

($ million)
Rank	Country	US$b	% change	% share
1	United States	7,722	19.7	22.3
2	Netherlands	2,565	7.8	7.4
3	China	2,099	5.9	6.1
4	United Kingdom	1,949	9	5.6
5	Japan	1,818	16	5.3
6	Hong Kong(a)	1,794	-1.9	5.2
7	Germany	1,719	4.1	5
8	Canada	1,652	21	4.8
9	France	1,533	2.2	4.4
10	Switzerland	1,526	2.1	4.4
11	Singapore	1,106	7.8	3.2
12	Ireland	1,085	15.1	3.1
13	British Virgin Islands	911	4.7	2.6
14	Belgium	656	10.6	1.9
15	Spain	607	4	1.8
16	Australia	579	16.5	1.7
	World outward stock	34,571	9.7
(a) Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: UNCTADstat database.

Two-way investment

At the end of 2019 two-way Australian investment of all types amounted to $6.8 trillion dollars. Of that total, $3.8 trillion was invested in Australia by foreign entities or persons, while Australians or Australian entities invested $3.0 trillion overseas.

Australia’s top 5 two-way investment partners 2019

Alternative text for Australia’s top 5 two-way investment partners 2019 infographic

Rank	Country	$Billion
1	USA	1,821
2	United Kindom	1,194
3	Japan	381
4	Belgium	356
5	Hong Kong (SAR of China)	204

Australian outward related affiliates

In September 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released a new dataset: Australian Outward Foreign Affiliates Trade 2018-19. This data is the first time since 2002-03 that the ABS has measured the overseas economic activity of Australia’s 5,176 majority-owned foreign affiliates (i.e. subsidiaries, branches and joint ventures where Australian ownership is at least 50 per cent).

In 2018-19 these entities posted sales of $213 billion in their host economies, employed 412,000 people at an average wage of $79,784 per annum, and added $160 billion in value to those economies. They also remitted $15 billion back to Australia in that year.

This dataset also highlights the importance of foreign affiliates in the delivery of particular Australian services, especially in financial and insurance, construction, engineering and other technical and health services. For example, nearly all health services provided abroad in 2018-19 were delivered via foreign affiliates: $6.4 billion in affiliates sales abroad compared with just $34 million in exports identified in the annual balance-of-payments figures.

Multilateral and regional organisations

Australia is one of 164 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the body that is responsible for negotiating global trade rules and resolving trade disputes. The WTO has also been vital for maintaining a stable global trading environment during the pandemic and will play a key role in economic recovery. We want to see the WTO reinvigorated with a more effective dispute settlement mechanism.  This will make it stronger and more relevant to today’s trade environment.

To this end, we are leading an initiative to develop international rules for e-commerce, and pushing for global agricultural reforms to address trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. At the same time, we are working to strengthen global trade in services rules.

Australia is an active and effective member of the Group of Twenty or G20, the world’s premier forum for international economic cooperation. The G20’s geographically dispersed membership of 19 countries and the European Union represent over 85 per cent of the world economy, more than 75 per cent of global trade and almost two-thirds of the world’s population. Australia hosted the G20 in 2014. We are working with Italy as it has the 2021 Presidency.

We promote our regional trade and investment interests through our membership of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. APEC is the premier economic organisation in a region with 2.9 billion people that generates around 60 per cent of world GDP. The collaborative approach to breaking down barriers to trade across our region has yielded a wide range of reforms since APEC was founded in 1989. These reforms have directly benefitted Australian businesses and consumers and added to the region’s prosperity.

In 2021, Australia celebrates 50 years of membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is the world’s premier economic policy development and standard setting body. Its 37 member countries, from Europe, the Americas and the Indo-Pacific, represent around 50 per cent of global GDP and are committed to developing and delivering better policies for better lives. Founded on a shared commitment to liberal democratic values, human rights and a rules-based international order, the OECD is a trusted and credible source of data, analysis and policy advice.The Hon Mathias Cormann commences as the OECD Secretary-General on 1 June 2021, the first time an Australian will lead the organisation – a significant opportunity to strengthen the links between OECD members and the Indo-Pacific region.

Australia also supports global cooperation, policies and dialogue to facilitate trade and investment through our membership of a range of other bodies, including the World Intellectual Organization and World Customs Organization.

Australia in value chains

A Global Value Chain (GVC) is a network of interlinked stages of production in the manufacture of goods and services that cross international borders.

GVCs are becoming an increasingly important feature of international trade and investment, particularly in Asia. The benefits to industry, business, exporters and consumers from participation in GVCs are manifold. GVCs provide scope for firms to enter markets by specialising in niche intermediate activities within a chain and allow suppliers to upgrade production into higher-value segments of their industries.

As an example of a GVC a mining technology business in Queensland, that designs and produces drilling machinery could import vehicles from Japan and engines from Canada. The Australian business could then combine the imported inputs with parts supplied domestically to produce a drilling rig for export.

More information

• Australia’s Trade Through Time navigate milestones in Australia’s trading history on an interactive timeline
• Subscribe to the business envoy quarterly magazine connects DFAT’s diplomatic network to Australian business
• Composition of Trade Australia analyses the composition, direction and commodity breakdown of Australia’s trade
• Trade in Services Australia details the composition and direction of Australia’s services trade, bi-annually
• International Investment Australia provides a detailed snapshot of Australia’s inwards and outwards investment on a calendar year basis
• Australia’s trade by State and Territory gives a breakdown of each Australian state and territory’s goods and services trade
• Case studies of how small and medium enterprises benefit from international trade and/or foreign investment
• Trade and investment articles enhancing understanding of trade trends

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