Introduction
This publication contains data on Australia's international trade in goods on an international merchandise trade basis and international trade in services on a balance of payments basis. Annual merchandise data for selected countries and annual services data by state and by country are released twice yearly. Calendar year data are usually released following the March issue of International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia and financial year data are usually released following the September issue.
Additional data on Australia’s international trade in goods and services are available in International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia.
Goods by partner country
Partner country estimates are produced to provide a summary of Australia’s international merchandise trade with selected trading partners.
International merchandise trade data in this publication are presented in a six month aggregation. This aggregated basis allows for data that are subject to confidentiality restrictions to be released, provided there is sufficient trade to preserve confidentiality.
Additional information on Australia’s international merchandise exports and imports, by country, are presented as a monthly times series, with additional countries and country groups in tables 14a and 14b of International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia. These tables differ from data presented in tables 1 and 2 of this publication as they are subject to an increased level of confidentiality restrictions. For more information on confidentiality see the Data Confidentiality section of International Merchandise Trade, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods.
Services by partner country
Partner country estimates are produced to provide a summary of Australia's trade in services with major trading partners.
A comprehensive explanation of the data sources used and the methodology applied in the compilation of partner country statistics is provided in the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods.
Services by state
Services credits are classified by the state of provision, while services debits are classified by the state of consumption. The state allocations for transportation, travel, freight insurance and telecommunication services are based on a number of indicators including merchandise trade statistics by state, overseas passenger arrivals and departures by state of clearance, and data provided by the Department of Home Affairs. The allocation for other services (about 25% of all trade in services) is primarily based on the location of the business reporting the information, which serves as a proxy for the state of provision/consumption of that service. The data should be used with care but are considered suitable for analysis over time.
Sign convention
Merchandise export and import statistics presented in this publication are on an international merchandise trade basis, both export and import entries are shown without regard to sign.
International trade in services statistics are presented on a balance of payments basis. In keeping with balance of payments conventions, credit entries (exports) are shown without sign and debit items (imports) are shown as negative entries.
Accuracy, reliability and revisions
Care should be exercised in the use and interpretation of estimates in this publication. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of all estimates, the transactions occurring in international trade in goods and services are of many different kinds, and therefore the compilation of trade estimates entails the use of a very wide range of statistical data of varying degrees of accuracy and timeliness.
This publication includes historical revisions which are also included in the Australian System of National Accounts, 2019-20, released in October 2020, and the September 2020 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia released in December 2020.
Rounding
Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals.