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Feature Article - Australia's Exporters, 2002-03



INTRODUCTION

This is the third of a series of articles analysing the characteristics and international trading activities of Australia's exporters, based on the Australian Business Number (ABN). The earlier articles related to analyses for the July to December 2001 and 2001-02 reference periods respectively and covered both exporters and importers. Information on importers for 2002-03 will be included in a future article.

Estimates for exporters of merchandise (businesses that export goods) are compiled from data sourced from the Australian Customs Service (Customs) and from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Australian Business Register. Estimates for exporters of offshore services, compiled from the ABS Survey of International Trade in Services (SITS), are also included.

The estimates are subject to limitations in terms of the data available and methodology applied:

a. In 2002-03 88% of export entries had an ABN reported to Customs, accounting for 91% of the value of merchandise exports. The ABS used name information provided to Customs to clerically improve the identification of ABNs. The final proportion of the value of exports with an ABN was 97% (96% in 2001-02). To estimate the number of businesses accounting for the remaining exports, the ABS followed the methodology outlined in the Appendix to the article 'Experimental Estimates on Australia's Exporters and Importers' (available on the ABS web site).

b. consistent with previous studies, businesses which exported goods totalling less than $10,000 in 2002-03 are excluded from the estimates of number of exporters;

c. service exporters include businesses which provide services from their Australian base to consumers offshore, i.e. supply modes 1 and 4 in the classification used by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). However, smaller and / or occasional exporters are unlikely to come to ABS notice and are therefore not included in the estimates. The number of excluded businesses may be significant, but the value of their exports is not thought to be appreciable in the totality of service exports. The ABS continues to try to identify these businesses and incorporate them into its surveys;

d. the numbers of service exporters excludes businesses that only supply insurance, financial, government or travel services, as estimates for these service types are not derived from the SITS. Travel services are the supply of goods or services to foreign tourists or students in Australia (supply mode 2), such as hotels, restaurants, retail, tourist facilities, transport, theatres, educational institutions, etc. The estimates also exclude Australian-owned businesses located overseas supplying goods or services in the country in which they are located (usually called foreign affiliates trade - supply mode 3), because their trade does not directly contribute to Australia's exports of goods and services;

e. Australian businesses which supply goods or services to other businesses which undertake the exporting function are excluded. For example, many agricultural products are exported from Australia by wholesalers (such as commodity marketing boards) rather than by the producer; or some consultancy services which are exported may be composed of the work of a number of sub-consultants providing services to the principal consultant, who then exports the combined service.

			EXPORTERS			TOTAL EXPORTS
			2001-02	2002-03		2001-02	2002-03	2002-03
			no.	no.		$m	$m	%
Goods exporters
	$100m or more		209	194		83,633	77,058	66.7
	$1m and less than $100m		4,187	4,159		31,910	33,162	28.7
	$100,000 and less than $1m		9,202	9,535		3,026	3,106	2.7
	$10,000 and less than $100,000		16,642	15,988		661	608	0.5
	Other goods exporters(a)		. .	. .		1,876	1,515	1.3
	Total goods exporters		30,240	29,876		121,106	115,450	100.0
Service exporters
	Businesses exporting services
		$100m or more	n.a.	20		n.a.	7,291	22.4
		$1m and less than $100m	n.a.	712		n.a.	6,790	20.8
		Less than $1m	n.a.	1,574		n.a.	577	1.8
		Total	2,250	2,306		14,178	14,658	45.0
	Other service exporters(b)		. .	. .		18,072	17,911	55.0
	Total service exporters		2,250	2,306		32,250	32,569	100.0
Total exporters (c)			31,450	31,174		153,356	148,019	. .
(a) Includes some identified overseas entities with large exports; aircraft and ships fuel used in transit; exporters less than $10,000 (estimated at $56m).
(b) Includes travel, insurance, financial and government services. Numbers of exporters cannot be estimated for these service types, as the Survey of International Trade in Services is not used to measure these exports.
(c) Total excludes duplication from businesses which export both goods and services.

		NUMBER OF CUSTOMS ENTRIES
Value of exports		1-2	3-10	11-20	21-50	51 or more	Total
NUMBER OF EXPORTERS
$100m or more		0	(a)	4	22	168	194
$1m and less than $100m		68	*331	219	670	2,871	4,159
$100,000 and less than $1m		863	2,691	2,128	2,848	1,006	9,535
$10,000 and less than $100,000		6,603	8,042	1,095	226	21	15,988
Total goods exporters		7,534	11,064	3,446	3,766	4,067	29,876
Exporters below $10,000 threshold		10,451	911	*30	2	0	11,394
VALUE OF EXPORTS ($m)
$100m or more		0	(a)	572	4,021	72,465	77,058
$1m and less than $100m		427	1,950	1,214	3,656	25,915	33,162
$100,000 and less than $1m		208	697	562	1,097	542	3,106
$10,000 and less than $100,000		197	319	75	*15	2	608
Less than $10,000		50	6	0	0	0	56
Other goods exporters(b)		. .	. .	. .	. .	. .	1,458
Total goods exporters		882	2,972	2,424	8,790	98,923	115,450
(a) To protect data confidentiality, exporters with fewer than 11 Customs entries have been included in the category '11-20 Customs entries'.
(b) Includes some identified overseas entities with large exports; aircraft and ships fuel used in transit.
* Estimate has a relative standard error of between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.

		EXPORTERS(a)			TOTAL GOODS EXPORTS(b)
		2001-02	2002-03		2001-02	2002-03	2002-03
Industry of exporter		no.	no.		$m	$m	%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing		922	938		3,063	2,403	2.1
Mining		497	441		37,307	36,219	31.4
Manufacturing		8,850	9,148		45,717	45,590	39.5
Electricity, gas and water supply		81	50		241	267	0.2
Construction		866	821		294	377	0.3
Wholesale trade		9,667	9,376		25,536	22,538	19.5
Retail trade		3,034	2,853		1,100	1,089	0.9
Accommodation, cafes and restaurants		118	*111		28	19	0.0
Transport and storage		1,159	1,022		2,008	1,849	1.6
Communication services		306	170		203	142	0.1
Finance and insurance		941	873		3,256	2,470	2.1
Property and business services		2,615	2,825		1,733	1,949	1.7
Government administration and defence		83	*132		257	178	0.2
Education		160	81		14	11	0.0
Health and community services		211	235		62	60	0.1
Cultural and recreational services		384	395		76	79	0.1
Personal and other services		286	*340		117	121	0.1
Other		62	66		91	89	0.1
Total goods exporters		30,240	29,876		121,106	115,450	100.0
(a) Includes only those businesses that exported at least $10,000 of goods. (b) Exports with no ABN reported (valued at $3.1b) were prorated across the industries that exported the same commodities. This includes $1.5b of exports by identified overseas entities with large exports, aircraft and ships fuel used in transit and exporters with less than $10,000 exports.
* Estimate has a relative standard error of between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.

		COMMODITY INDUSTRY OF ORIGIN
		Agriculture,				Total
Industry of exporter		forestry and fishing	Mining	Manufacturing	Other	goods exports
$ MILLION
Agriculture, forestry and fishing		1,293	1	1,105	4	2,403
Mining		1	27,846	8,305	67	36,219
Manufacturing		420	n.p.	41,593	n.p.	45,590
Wholesale trade		8,533	1,694	11,929	382	22,538
Finance and insurance		257	n.p.	1,705	n.p.	2,470
Property and business services		142	256	1,491	61	1,949
Other		218	258	3,493	312	4,281
Total goods exports		10,862	31,951	69,622	3,014	115,450
PERCENT
Agriculture, forestry and fishing		11.9	0.0	1.6	0.1	2.1
Mining		0.0	87.2	11.9	2.2	31.4
Manufacturing		3.9	n.p.	59.7	n.p.	39.5
Wholesale trade		78.6	5.3	17.1	12.7	19.5
Finance and insurance		2.4	n.p.	2.4	n.p.	2.1
Property and business services		1.3	0.8	2.1	2.0	1.7
Other		2.0	0.8	5.0	10.4	3.7
Total goods exports		100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

• small businesses - having fewer than 20 employees and estimated annual turnover less than $1m and exports of less than $1m during 2002-03;
• large businesses - having 200 or more employees or estimated annual turnover of $20m or more or exports of $20m or more during 2002-03; and
• medium businesses - all businesses other than those defined as small or large.

		NUMBER OF EXPORTERS(a)					VALUE OF EXPORTS
		Large	Medium	Small	Total(b)		Large	Medium	Small	Total
Industry of exporter		no.	no.	no.	no.		$m	$m	$m	$m
Agriculture, forestry and fishing		71	376	369	816		1,784	561	58	2,403
Mining		162	93	107	362		36,034	167	17	36,219
Manufacturing		1306	4125	2137	7,568		41,692	3,640	257	45,590
Wholesale trade		973	4240	2853	8,066		18,683	3,479	376	22,538
Finance and insurance		94	128	317	539		2,126	297	46	2,470
Property and business services		197	777	1029	2,003		1,324	499	126	1,949
Other		703	1,925	2,038	4,666		2,876	1,169	237	4,281
Industry not known		333	2,012	3,512	5,856		(c)	(c)	(c)	(c)
Total goods exporters		3,839	13,676	12,362	29,876		104,520	9,813	1,117	115,450
PERCENT
Agriculture, forestry and fishing		8.7	46.1	45.2	100.0		74.2	23.4	2.4	100.0
Mining		44.8	25.7	29.6	100.0		99.5	0.5	0.0	100.0
Manufacturing		17.3	54.5	28.2	100.0		91.5	8.0	0.6	100.0
Wholesale trade		12.1	52.6	35.4	100.0		82.9	15.4	1.7	100.0
Finance and insurance		17.4	23.7	58.8	100.0		86.1	12.0	1.9	100.0
Property and business services		9.8	38.8	51.4	100.0		67.9	25.6	6.5	100.0
Other		15.1	41.3	43.7	100.0		67.2	27.3	5.5	100.0
Industry not known		5.7	34.4	60.0	100.0		(c)	(c)	(c)	(c)
Total goods exporters		12.8	45.8	41.4	100.0		90.5	8.5	1.0	100.0
(a) Includes only those businesses that exported at least $10,000 of goods.
(b) The industry estimates of number of exporters differ from that reported in Table F3 because they do not include the estimated 5,856 exporters that reported no ABN. These are listed as 'Industry not known' in this table. (c) Exports with no ABN reported (valued at $3.1b) were prorated across the industries that exported the same commodities. This includes $1.5b of exports by identified overseas entities with large exports, aircraft and ships fuel used in transit and exporters with less than $10,000 exports.

• the postcode of the exporter is the same as the state of origin; or
• the exporter has multi-state locations that include the state of origin; or
• the exporter was in the manufacturing or mining industry and reported $1m or more in goods exports from the state of origin.

		EXPORTERS(a)				VALUE OF EXPORTS
		Location	No locations			Location	No locations
		in state	in state			in state	in state
		of origin	of origin	Total		of origin	of origin	Total(b)
State of origin		no.	no.	no.		$m	$m	$m
New South Wales		10,297	2,498	12,794		18,736	758	19,494
Victoria		8,125	2,870	10,995		17,296	1,286	18,582
Queensland		5,141	1,936	7,077		19,764	1,621	21,385
South Australia		1,867	1,057	2,924		7,699	697	8,397
Western Australia		3,005	937	3,942		31,195	1,269	32,464
Tasmania		257	376	633		2,226	174	2,400
Northern Territory		129	138	268		2,637	85	2,722
Re-exports		. .	. .	13,697		. .	. .	8,489
Other exporters(c)		. .	. .	. .		. .	. .	1,518
Total goods exporters(d)		. .	. .	29,876		99,552	5,891	115,450
(a) Includes only those businesses that exported at least $10,000 of goods.
(b) The total value of exports by state of origin differs in Tables F6 and F7 because in Table F6 exports by 'Other exporters' are separately identified whereas in Table F7 they were prorated across the industries that exported the same commodities.
(c) Includes some identified overseas entities with large exports; aircraft and ships fuel used in transit; exporters less than $10,000; and exports from the Australian Capital Territory.
(d) Businesses may export goods from more than one state.

		New								Total
		South		Queens-	South	Western		Northern		goods
		Wales	Victoria	land	Australia	Australia	Tasmania	Territory	Re-exports	exports(a)
Industry of exporter		$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Agriculture, forestry and fishing		405	190	538	334	303	424	193	16	2,403
Mining		3,608	219	10,781	1,412	16,898	884	2,055	361	36,219
Manufacturing		9,626	12,773	4,855	4,258	9,397	858	n.p.	n.p.	45,590
Wholesale trade		4,416	4,372	4,425	2,244	4,377	206	165	2,332	22,538
Finance and insurance		391	386	179	88	1,065	14	n.p.	n.p.	2,470
Property and business services		374	239	324	65	394	16	1	536	1,949
Other		717	597	563	133	637	31	9	1,592	4,281
Total goods exports(b)		19,538	18,776	21,666	8,534	33,073	2,435	2,722	8,702	115,450
(a) Includes exports from the Australian Capital Territory.
(b) The total value of exports by state of origin differs in Tables F6 and F7 because in Table F6 exports by 'Other exporters' are separately identified whereas in Table F7 they were prorated across the industries that exported the same commodities.

		VALUE OF IMPORTS
		$100m	$1m and	$100,000	$10,000 and		Total
		or	less than	and less	less than		goods
		more	$100m	than $1m	$100,000	Other(a)	exporters
		no.	no.	no.	no.	no.	no.
Value of exports
$100m or more		27	54	20	9	84	194
$1m and less than $100m		123	1,574	644	412	1,406	4,159
$100,000 and less than $1m		18	2,226	1,627	1,050	4,614	9,535
$10,000 and less than $100,000		7	1,714	2,640	1,901	9,726	15,988
Other(b)		7	2,854	12,890	27,516	. .	. .
Total goods importers		182	8,422	17,821	30,888	. .	(c)
(a) Includes businesses whose imports are not known or valued at less than $10,000.
(b) Includes businesses whose exports are not known or valued at less than $10,000.
(c) Total goods exporters were 29,876 and total goods importers were 57,313.

				Average service
		Total service	Total service	exports per
	Exporters(a)	exports	exports	business
Type of service	no.	$m	%	$m
Transportation services	89	7,467	22.9	83.9
Travel services	(b)	15,452	47.4	(b)
Communication services	779	1,083	3.3	1.4
Construction services	186	85	0.3	0.5
Insurance services	(b)	673	2.1	(b)
Financial services	(b)	984	3.0	(b)
Computer and information services	1,052	1,091	3.3	1.0
Royalties and licence fees	1,240	618	1.9	0.5
Other business services	1,837	3,704	11.4	2.0
Personal, cultural and recreational services	772	610	1.9	0.8
Government services n.i.e.	(b)	802	2.5	(b)
Total services exporters	2,306	32,569	100.0	. .
(a) Businesses may export more than one type of service.
(b) Number of exporters cannot be estimated as the Survey of International Trade in Services is not used to measure exports of this service type.

						Average service
				Total services	Total services	exports per
			Exporters	exports	exports	business
Industry of exporter			no.	$m	%	$m
Businesses exporting services
	Agriculture, forestry and fishing		9	22	0.1	2.4
	Mining		60	226	0.7	3.8
	Manufacturing		428	990	3.0	2.3
	Construction		22	26	0.1	1.2
	Wholesale trade		301	1,306	4.0	4.3
	Retail trade		53	61	0.2	1.2
	Transport and storage		132	7,558	23.2	57.3
	Communication services		47	1,022	3.1	21.7
	Property and business services		872	2,388	7.3	2.7
	Education		68	287	0.9	4.2
	Cultural and recreational services		178	318	1.0	1.8
	Personal and other services		14	48	0.1	3.4
	Other		122	406	1.2	3.3
	Total		2,306	14,658	45.0	7.4
Other service exporters (a)			(a)	17,911	55.0	(a)
Total service exporters			2,306	32,569	100.0	. .
(a) Includes travel, insurance, financial and government services. Numbers of exporters cannot be estimated for these service types, as the Survey of International Trade in Services is not used to measure these exports.

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