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EXPORTS

• Western Australia's trade surplus in the March quarter 2009 ($14.6 billion) was 41% higher than the surplus in the same quarter of the previous year.
• The value of exports from Western Australia was 34% higher in the March 2009 quarter than in the corresponding quarter of 2008, up from $17 billion to $23 billion.
• China was the main export destination, receiving goods from Western Australia to the value of $7.6 billion. This was over $3 billion more than in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Over the year the value of exports to United Kingdom more than doubled, from $1.6 billion to $4 billion.
• Exports to India, though declining slightly in the last two quarters, have exceeded $1 billion for the last five consecutive quarters.
• Export values to Japan, after rising for several quarters and reaching $6.3 billion in December 2008, fell sharply to $3.6 billion in the March quarter 2009. In addition, there was a significant drop in the value of exports to United States of America. After a high degree of volatility in recent quarters, this fell to $315 million, almost 38% lower than the corresponding figure for March 2008 ($507 million). Exports to Singapore also dropped significantly in value, from a peak of $929 million in June 2008 to $660 million in March 2009.

1 International Merchandise Trade(a), Exports - top 10 countries: Original
	EXPORTS
	Mar 08	Dec 08	Mar 09
Country	$'000	$'000	$'000
China	4 264 518	5 588 990	7 642 407
United Kingdom	1 624 468	1 691 116	4 048 182
Japan	3 109 008	6 257 509	3 648 702
Korea, Republic of	1 323 613	2 093 439	1 657 132
India	1 436 002	1 379 192	1 253 780
Singapore	927 253	675 031	660 112
Taiwan	410 765	482 274	348 756
United Arab Emirates	243 933	780 170	346 187
Thailand	321 206	631 919	327 972
United States of America	506 870	585 955	314 750
Total Export(b)	17 381 301	23 323 436	23 315 370
(a) Free on board (f.o.b.) value
(b) Includes countries not listed.
Source: ABS data available on request, International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, cat. no. 5368.0

• In terms of commodities exported, iron ore and concentrates; and non-monetary gold continued to be the leading exports from Western Australia in the March quarter 2009, with export values of $8.9 billion and $5.5 billion respectively.
• The export value of iron ore and concentrates remained firm in March 2009, slightly higher than the December figure of $8.5 billion and almost $4 billion higher than the figure for the March quarter 2008.
• The export value of non-monetary gold also continued to rise. This figure was about $1.5 billion higher than in December 2008 and $2.3 billion higher than in March 2008, reflecting a recent increase in the overseas demand for gold during the current global financial crisis. Other major commodities contributing to the growth in export values since March 2008 included wheat and natural gas, although the value of natural gas exported has declined since December.

2 International Merchandise Trade(a), by major commodity
	Mar 08	Dec 08	Mar 09
Category of the SITC	$'000	$'000	$'000
MAJOR EXPORT COMMODITIES(b)
Iron ore and concentrates	4 870 476	8 563 498	8 867 427
Gold, non-monetary	3 285 861	4 029 442	5 544 729
Confidential items	2 423 849	2 252 723	2 051 990
Natural gas	1 233 681	2 933 244	1 738 943
Crude petroleum oils	2 275 741	1 907 235	1 507 906
Wheat	451 000	673 244	829 862
Nickel ores and concentrates	309 954	311 002	186 232
Ores and concentrates of base metal	173 195	110 218	173 253
Nickel	147 262	100 344	133 819
Liquefied propane and butane	175 536	181 147	122 766
Live animals	96 469	144 179	104 620
Crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic invertebrates	85 445	64 570	96 563
Pigments, paints, varnishes and related materials	90 861	94 680	85 835
Wool and other animal hair	77 028	69 784	85 630
Refined petroleum oils	140 022	98 525	74 822
Total exports(c)	17 381 301	23 323 436	23 315 370
(a) Care should be taken when comparing with commodities data prior to July 2005. For full details about changes to international trade statistics, users should refer to the Information Paper: Impact of introducing Revision 4 of the Standard International Trade Classification, 2008 (cat. no. 5368.0.55.10).
(b) Free on board (f.o.b.) value
(c) Includes categories not listed.
Source: ABS data available on request, International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, cat. no. 5368.0.