Characteristics of Australian Exporters methodology

An exporter is defined as the owner of the exported merchandise.

The statistical unit for exporters in this publication is the Type of Activity Unit (TAU) which are collectively stored on the Australian Bureau of Statistics Business Register (ABSBR). The process of identifying the TAU for merchandise exporters is:

• The Department of Home Affairs documentation for each merchandise export includes an Australian Business Number (ABN) or a Customs Client Identifier (CCID) identifying the owner. The CCID is an identifier provided by the Department of Home Affairs to exporting businesses that do not have, or do not report, an ABN.
• ABNs are mapped to their identified TAU on the ABSBR.
• CCIDs which cannot be mapped to the ABSBR are treated as statistical units.

Information on merchandise exporters is compiled from merchandise trade statistics and is usually consistent with balance of payments principles. In a small number of cases a non-resident may own the goods at the time of departure. Generally, there would have been a transaction occurring between an Australian resident and a non-resident prior to the merchandise physically leaving Australia. Therefore, it is assumed for the purpose of these statistics that all owners of merchandise at the time of export are Australian residents and are included in the counts of exporters.

There are a number of situations that impact on the interpretation of the count and characteristics of exporters:

• Merchandise exports exclude export consignments with a value of less than $2,000.
• Australian businesses, which sell goods or services to other Australian businesses who then undertake the exporting function, are excluded. For instance, many agricultural products are exported from Australia by wholesalers, such as commodity marketing boards, rather than by the producer. In addition, a business may export a product that is assembled from components made by a number of Australian businesses.
• Some analysts include the individual businesses providing commodities, components, or other goods for export, in their definition of 'exporters', or at least consider them to be involved in export related activity. However, unless the businesses actually own the merchandise at the time of export, they are not included in the ABS count of exporters.
• Merchandise exporters exclude Australian-owned businesses located overseas supplying goods to or from the country in which they are located (supply mode 3 - usually called foreign affiliates trade), because their trade does not directly contribute to Australia's exports.

Apart from the exclusions mentioned above, businesses which export merchandise in a particular year are counted as exporters regardless of the value or frequency of their exports.

The ABS Business Register (ABSBR) is a two-population model. The two populations are known as the profiled population and the non-profiled population. The main distinction between businesses in the two populations relates to the complexity of the business structure and the degree of intervention required to reflect the business structure for statistical purposes.

The vast majority of businesses included on the ABSBR are in the non-profiled population. Most of these businesses are understood to have simple structures. After some system processes are applied to the unit registered for an ABN, the resulting statistical unit is a good approximation satisfying ABS statistical requirements. For these businesses, the ABS statistical units structure directly aligns with the ABN unit: One ABN equates to one business.

For a relatively small number of businesses, the ABN unit is not suitable for ABS economic statistics purposes and the ABS maintains its own unit structure through direct contact with businesses. These businesses constitute the profiled population. This population consists typically of large, complex and diverse groups of businesses. In the profiled population, each in scope type of activity unit (TAU) equates to one exporting business.

The TAU is comprised of one or more business entities, sub-entities, or branches of a business entity within an enterprise group that can report production and employment data for similar economic activities. When a minimum set of data items is available, a TAU is created which covers all the operations within an industry subdivision. Where a business cannot supply adequate information for each industry, a TAU is formed which contains activity in more than one industry subdivision. These TAU units are classified according to the industry subdivision of the main activity. TAU units may have operations in one or more states/territories.

The statistical unit referred to as an exporting business thus consists of ABNs from the non-profiled population and TAU units from the profiled population. For merchandise exporters it also includes CCIDs and ABNs that do match to the ABSBR. Further information on the ABS units model can be found in 'Appendix - ABS Business Register and the ABS units model' in Standard Economic Sector Classifications of Australia (SESCA), 2008 (Version 1.1).

Two different concepts are used to measure the state distribution of merchandise exporters in this publication.

The first measure is counts of the number of businesses which export merchandise produced in a given state based on information supplied to the Department of Home Affairs with export documentation. The second measure is a count of the number of businesses engaged in exporting activities within a given state, which is the state of business location based on main business address obtained from the ABSBR.

In this publication, Table 4 shows value of exports on a state of origin basis. Exports data that have the confidentiality restrictions 'No commodity details' or 'No value details' are currently aggregated into a single confidential commodity code. The confidential data are published as 'Total goods exports'. Therefore, individual state totals may not represent the actual amount of trade in each state but only the trade in commodities without a 'No commodity details' or 'No value details' restriction.

In this publication, Table 5 shows the distribution of merchandise exporting businesses, by industry of exporter and the exporter's main state of business location as listed on the ABSBR. Businesses can operate in more than one state or territory. Main state of business location is derived from the main business address.

In addition to the industry of origin of the commodity, a number of tables in this publication show the industry of the exporter. This is based on the ANZSIC 2006 industry of the exporting business as registered on the ABSBR. The exporting business as defined in this publication is the owner of the goods at the time of export and not necessarily the producer of the exported commodity. For more information about ANZSIC 2006, refer to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 2006.

For the purposes of this publication, the size of the business in Table 3 has been determined by three criteria - its number of employees, annual turnover (both from ABSBR) and the value of exports (reported to the Department of Home Affairs). These criteria have been used because it caters for exporters that do not have an ABN or have more complex structures; e.g. the ABN reported on the export documentation may not be the same as the ABN used for employment purposes.

For exporters who have number of employees and annual turnover reported, the criteria to define the size of the business are:

• small exporters - having fewer than 20 employees and annual turnover less than $2m and exports of less than $2m during the reference period
• large exporters - having 200 or more employees, or, annual turnover of $20m or more, or, exports of $20m or more during the reference period
• medium exporters - all businesses other than those defined as small or large.

There are two types of business which do not have number of employees and/or annual turnover reported:

• CCID exporters: The CCID is an identifier provided by the Department of Home Affairs to exporting businesses that do not have or do not report an ABN. Therefore, number of employees and annual turnover are not available.
• ABNs where number of employees is not reported and/or annual turnover is not reported.

For CCID exporters, the criteria to define the size of the business are:

• small exporters - having exports of less than $2m during the reference period
• large exporters - having exports of $20m or more during the reference period
• medium exporters - all businesses other than those defined as small or large.

For ABNs where number of employees is not reported, and/or annual turnover is not reported, the criteria to define the size of the business are:

• small exporters –
  • having number of employees fewer than 20 or not reported; and,
  • annual turnover less than $2m or not reported; and,
  • exports of less than $2m during the reference period.
• large exporters - having 200 or more employees, or, annual turnover of $20m or more, or, exports of $20m or more during the reference period
• medium exporters - all businesses other than those defined as small or large.

Estimates relating to exporters of merchandise goods are compiled from data sourced from the Department of Home Affairs and from the ABS Business Register (ABSBR). The total count of all actively trading businesses (whether exporting or not) can be obtained from Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits.

The data contained in this publication are based, in part, on Australian Business Register (ABR) data supplied by the Registrar to the ABS under A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999 which requires that such data is only used for the purpose of carrying out functions of the ABS. Any discussion of data limitations is in the context of using the data for statistical purposes, and is not related to the ability of the data to support the ABR’s core operational requirements.

To help readers interpret data on the number and characteristics of exporters, the TAU (which is mapped from ABN) is used to obtain selected information on businesses from the ABSBR.

The information obtained from the ABSBR includes:

• industry of the TAU business based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC) 2006
• main state of business location, based on main business address
• number of employees
• annual turnover

The characteristics listed above cannot be obtained for exporting businesses that are not on the ABSBR (including CCIDs).

The following issues should be considered when interpreting information from the ABSBR about exporters:

• Information obtained from the ABSBR for businesses is relevant to the point in time approximately a month after the end of each financial year. This means that the location, industry and size information for some businesses may differ between financial years. For example, the size category allocated to exporting businesses may be impacted by an increase in annual turnover. Changes may be made as the ABSBR is updated at any time, so changes to classificatory data retrieved from the ABSBR as a result of reviews or amendments will impact on the time series. Therefore, care should be taken when analysing time series in this publication.
• A business may have more than one TAU and the TAU quoted on export documentation may be the TAU of a part of the business not actually producing the exports. As a result, characteristics obtained from the ABSBR (e.g. the main state or the industry of the business) could relate to a corporate head office.
• A business located in a state may export goods produced in other states.

The following information can be obtained or derived from export documentation for all merchandise exporters including those without an ABN:

• value of exports
• state of origin of the commodity
• industry of origin of the commodity
• country of destination

The aggregated data for value of merchandise exports in this publication matches the aggregated data in the January 2020 reference month issue of International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia.

The state of origin of the commodity recorded on export documentation can be used to identify the state from which the exported merchandise was sourced. State of origin is the state in which the final stage of production or manufacture occurs. Determining a single state of origin is difficult when there may be several stages in the manufacturing process, each of which may take place in a different state. For example, fruit may be grown in one state, canned in another, and exported from another.

The industry of origin of the commodity is derived by linking each statistical code in the Australian Harmonised Export Commodity Classification (AHECC) to an ANZSIC 2006 industry based on the primary activities of the industries with which they are most commonly associated. These are the industries most likely to have produced the exported merchandise. Industry of origin of the commodity is a different concept from the industry of business recorded on the ABSBR. While each AHECC statistical code is allocated to one primary industry of origin, commodities can be produced and/or exported by businesses classified to a number of industries.

This publication contains statistics on the following country groups: APEC, ASEAN, EU, OECD and Pacific. The countries that comprise these groups, in the 2018-19 reference period, are listed below:

APEC: Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China (excludes SARs and Taiwan), Hong Kong (SAR of China), Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Republic of (South), Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States of America, Vietnam.

ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam.

EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark (includes Greenland and Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland, France (includes Andorra and Monaco), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy (includes Holy See and San Marino), Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, nfd.

OECD: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czechia, Denmark (includes Greenland and Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland, France (includes Andorra and Monaco), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy (includes Holy See and San Marino), Japan, Korea, Republic of (South), Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (includes Liechtenstein),  Turkey, United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, nfd., United States of America.

Pacific: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Federated States of, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Samoa, American, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna.

Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals. Percentage movements are calculated from data at the level of precision presented in this publication (i.e. $m).

Legislative requirements to ensure privacy and secrecy of this data have been followed. Only people authorised under the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975 have been allowed to view data about any particular firm in conducting these analyses.

 In accordance with the Census and Statistics Act 1905, results have been confidentialised to ensure that they are not likely to enable identification of a particular person or organisation.

Statistics presented in this release have been derived using a combination of:

• data collected directly by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) under the authority of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (CSA);
• tax data supplied to the Australian Statistician by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) under the Taxation Administration Act 1953;
• Australian Business Register (ABR) data supplied by the Registrar under A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999; and
• international merchandise exports data sourced from the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs).

The results of these studies are based, in part, on tax data supplied by the ATO to the ABS under the Taxation Administration Act 1953, which requires that such data is only used for the purpose of administering the CSA. No individual information collected under the CSA is provided back to the ATO for administrative or regulatory purposes. Any discussion of data quality or limitations is in the context of using the data for statistical purposes, and is not related to the ability of the data to support the ATO's core operational requirements.

Legislative requirements to ensure privacy and secrecy of this data have been adhered to. In accordance with the CSA, results have been confidentialised to ensure that they are not likely to enable identification of a particular person or organisation.

For information on the institutional environment of the ABS, including the legislative obligations, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.

This statistical release provides an analysis of the characteristics and international trading activities of Australian merchandise exporters. The scope includes all exporters of merchandise active during the 2013-14 to 2018-19 financial years, excluding those having only export consignments with a value of less than $2,000. Please refer to the Methodology section of this publication for further information.

Actively trading businesses include:

• Type of Activity Units (TAUs) from the profiled population of the ABS Business Register (ABSBR), where activity is monitored by direct contact by the ABS.
• Australian Business Numbers (ABNs) from the non-profiled population, that are actively remitting in respect of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) tax role.

The characteristics of actively trading businesses are then identified in the international merchandise exports data sourced from Home Affairs, with the process for identifying actively exporting businesses summarised as follows:

• The Home Affairs documentation for each merchandise export includes an ABN or a Customs Client Identifier (CCID) identifying the owner of the goods. The CCID is an identifier provided by Home Affairs to exporting businesses that do not report an ABN or choose not to report an ABN.
• ABNs are mapped to their identified TAU on the ABSBR.
• CCIDs which cannot be mapped to the ABSBR are treated as statistical units.

More detail on the underlying concepts and structure of international merchandise trade and the sources, methods and terms used in compiling the associated value estimates are presented in the following ABS publication, International Merchandise Trade, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods.

International merchandise trade data for the 2018-19 financial year were extracted as at the December 2019 reference month. This extraction timeframe ensures that the data is final and will not be revised as part of the standard revision window. For further information about the revision window for international merchandise trade data, refer to the Data Quality - Accuracy section in the following ABS publication, International Merchandise Trade, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods.

The statistics contained in this release are intended to provide an accurate measure of the characteristics and international trading activities of Australian merchandise exporters.

The ABS use a variety of methods to routinely assess information obtained from administrative data (such as that utilised in producing the statistics contained in this release).  Sound data collection, methodological systems, conformity to international standard frameworks and the use of analytical tools all contribute to high quality output.  Nevertheless, the data may not be accurate for a number of reasons.

More detail on the major sources of inaccurate data in ABS' international merchandise trade statistics, and business statistics can be found in International Merchandise Trade, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods and Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits.

Statistics on Australia's international merchandise trade are compiled and presented in accordance with international standards.  The main standards are outlined in the Quality Declaration section of ABS publication, International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia.

A revised methodology was introduced for the 2014-15 financial year release, therefore care should be taken when comparing data from this publication with data from publications released prior to 2016.

This statistical release provides data on the characteristics and international trading activities of Australian merchandise exporters.  These characteristics include business counts by selected demographics (e.g. ANZSIC, business size) and the value of trading activity associated with these demographic breakdowns.  These data are available by financial year and on a current price basis only.

The ABS publication, International Merchandise Trade, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods, provides users with detailed information on international merchandise trade statistics, describing the conceptual framework underlying the statistics, classification of data items, presentations and publications.  Information is also presented on data sources, compilation methodologies and emerging issues.

Data are available to users free of change from the ABS website.  Data available in this release is in Excel spreadsheet format and the metadata (e.g. explanatory notes) is available in HTML webpage format.

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