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International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

This is not the latest release View the latest release

Statistics about international trade in goods and services, on a balance of payments and international trade basis.

Reference period

March 2023

Released

4/05/2023

View all releases

Key statistics

The seasonally adjusted balance on goods and services surplus increased $1,118m in March.
Goods and services credits (exports) rose $2,181m (3.8%) driven by Metal ores and minerals.
Goods and services debits (imports) rose $1,062m (2.5%) driven by Non-industrial transport equipment.

Monthly Travel Services debits (imports) estimates now labelled as preliminary

The ABS is now labelling the monthly estimates of Travel Service debits as preliminary.

Recent changes in traveller spending patterns has increased the uncertainty of monthly Travel Service debit estimates. With this comes a higher risk of revisions. Please use caution when interpreting the preliminary estimates particularly estimates for the latest month.

The ABS calculates monthly estimates by using:

Overseas Arrivals and Departures (OAD) estimates for the latest month along with an average spend per traveller from the previous month.
Newly available Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Overseas Card Payments data to replace the OAD-based estimates in the following month. The RBA data captures changes in both number of travellers and spending patterns of Australians overseas.

Quarterly travel services debits published in the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia and the Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product are unaffected as all the data sources are available in time for publishing these estimates.

For more information about the compilation of monthly and quarterly Travel Services please see Enhancing Trade in Services quarterly statistics | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

Trade overview

Key Figures, Seasonally Adjusted
		Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Balance on goods and services		10,831	14,151	15,269	1,118	na
	Credits (Exports of goods & services)	58,687	57,118	59,299	2,181	3.8
	Debits (Imports of goods & services)	-47,856	-42,967	-44,029	1,062	2.5

na not applicable

Balance on goods and services
	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)
Dec-21	7,568
Jan-22	12,442
Feb-22	7,332
Mar-22	9,492
Apr-22	12,341
May-22	13,846
Jun-22	17,106
Jul-22	8,404
Aug-22	8,748
Sep-22	12,508
Oct-22	12,249
Nov-22	13,357
Dec-22	12,644
Jan-23	10,831
Feb-23	14,151
Mar-23	15,269

Balance on goods and services

["","Seasonally Adjusted"]

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Balance on goods and services

In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $15,269m in March 2023, an increase of $1,118 on the surplus in February 2023.

Balance on goods and services(a), seasonally adjusted
			Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Balance on goods and services			10,831	14,151	15,269	1,118	na
	Total goods and services credits		58,687	57,118	59,299	2,181	3.8
		Total goods credits	50,799	49,166	51,277	2,111	4.3
		Total services credits	7,888	7,952	8,022	70	0.9
	Total goods and services debits		-47,856	-42,967	-44,029	1,062	2.5
		Total goods debits	-38,863	-34,728	-35,896	1,168	3.4
		Total services debits	-8,993	-8,239	-8,134	-105	-1.3

na not applicable
a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.

Review of seasonal adjustment

An extraordinary annual seasonal review (EASR) was undertaken this month. The outcome of the review is that concurrent seasonal adjustment has been reinstated for all seasonally adjusted estimates in this publication. The review also assessed seasonal factors and appropriateness of any prior corrections in more detail than is possible in the monthly cycle, resulting in larger revisions than usual.

Trend estimates for goods credits and debits have been reinstated (including for the entire COVID period in the data downloads spreadsheets). For further details, see COVID-19 in this publication under Supplementary information.

Goods and services credits

Goods credits (exports), seasonally adjusted

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)	Trend (a) ($m)
Mar-19	30,603	32,238
Apr-19	31,671	32,946
May-19	33,919	33,566
Jun-19	33,975	33,912
Jul-19	35,354	33,934
Aug-19	33,119	33,678
Sep-19	33,465	33,061
Oct-19	31,222	32,272
Nov-19	31,778	31,630
Dec-19	32,200	31,318
Jan-20	30,702	31,273
Feb-20	29,007	31,403
Mar-20	34,527	-
Apr-20	31,903	-
May-20	29,322	-
Jun-20	29,277	-
Jul-20	29,032	-
Aug-20	27,968	-
Sep-20	28,487	-
Oct-20	29,942	-
Nov-20	31,010	-
Dec-20	33,505	-
Jan-21	34,526	-
Feb-21	35,137	-
Mar-21	34,613	-
Apr-21	35,748	-
May-21	37,462	-
Jun-21	38,644	-
Jul-21	41,906	-
Aug-21	42,046	-
Sep-21	38,417	-
Oct-21	38,078	-
Nov-21	40,326	-
Dec-21	41,357	-
Jan-22	45,228	-
Feb-22	45,939	-
Mar-22	45,811	-
Apr-22	48,300	48,874
May-22	52,418	50,090
Jun-22	55,156	50,916
Jul-22	48,130	51,284
Aug-22	50,000	51,322
Sep-22	53,018	51,126
Oct-22	51,454	50,871
Nov-22	50,491	50,723
Dec-22	50,058	50,575
Jan-23	50,799	50,364
Feb-23	49,166	50,192
Mar-23	51,277	50,021

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a. Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period.

Goods credits, seasonally adjusted
			Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Total goods credits			50,799	49,166	51,277	2,111	4.3
	General merchandise		48,419	47,017	49,259	2,242	4.8
		Rural goods	5,950	6,044	6,702	658	10.9
		Non-rural goods	42,469	40,974	42,557	1,583	3.9
	Net exports of goods under merchanting(a)		-10	-10	-11	-1	10.0
	Non-monetary gold(a)		2,390	2,159	2,029	-130	-6.0

a. This component is not seasonally adjusted.

Rural goods

Rural goods, seasonally adjusted
	Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Rural goods	5,950	6,044	6,702	658	10.9
	Meat and meat preparations	1,368	1,370	1,555	185	13.5
	Cereal grains and cereal preparations	1,826	1,860	2,120	260	14.0
	Wool and sheepskins	293	250	298	48	19.2
	Other rural(a)	2,464	2,564	2,729	165	6.4

Non-rural goods

Non-rural goods, seasonally adjusted
	Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Non-rural goods	42,469	40,974	42,557	1,583	3.9
	Metal ores and minerals	16,745	15,179	16,937	1,758	11.6
	Coal, coke and briquettes	10,376	10,530	10,733	203	1.9
	Other mineral fuels	9,086	8,860	8,359	-501	-5.7
	Metals (excl. non-monetary gold)	1,165	1,273	1,388	115	9.0
	Machinery	1,111	1,155	1,102	-53	-4.6
	Transport equipment	381	378	368	-10	-2.6
	Other manufactures	2,226	2,248	2,241	-7	-0.3
	Other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages)(a)	1,114	1,082	1,174	92	8.5
	Goods procured in ports by carriers(b)	265	270	255	-15	-5.6

Services credits

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)
Mar-19	8,182
Apr-19	8,245
May-19	8,357
Jun-19	8,416
Jul-19	8,509
Aug-19	8,639
Sep-19	8,699
Oct-19	8,791
Nov-19	8,816
Dec-19	8,771
Jan-20	8,136
Feb-20	7,427
Mar-20	6,878
Apr-20	5,459
May-20	5,613
Jun-20	5,767
Jul-20	5,255
Aug-20	5,090
Sep-20	5,290
Oct-20	5,388
Nov-20	5,471
Dec-20	5,379
Jan-21	5,283
Feb-21	5,078
Mar-21	4,951
Apr-21	5,010
May-21	5,179
Jun-21	5,324
Jul-21	4,849
Aug-21	4,765
Sep-21	4,871
Oct-21	4,715
Nov-21	4,772
Dec-21	4,816
Jan-22	5,044
Feb-22	5,032
Mar-22	5,083
Apr-22	5,590
May-22	5,862
Jun-22	6,070
Jul-22	6,464
Aug-22	6,509
Sep-22	6,883
Oct-22	7,039
Nov-22	7,516
Dec-22	7,701
Jan-23	7,888
Feb-23	7,952
Mar-23	8,022

["","Seasonally Adjusted"]

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Services credits, seasonally adjusted
			Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Total services credits			7,888	7,952	8,022	70	0.9
	Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(a)		-	-	-	-	-
	Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(a)		4	3	3	-	-
	Transport		687	707	696	-11	-1.6
		Passenger(b)	311	330	321	-9	-2.7
		Freight(c)	36	37	36	-1	-2.7
		Other	207	208	208	-	-
		Postal and courier services(d)	132	132	131	-1	-0.8
	Travel		4,152	4,204	4,274	70	1.7
	Other services		3,045	3,038	3,048	10	0.3
Memorandum item
	Tourism related services credits(e)		4,463	4,534	4,595	61	1.3

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
b. Passenger transportation services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
c. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
d. Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
e. For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see the methodology page.

Goods and services debits

Goods debits (imports), seasonally adjusted

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)	Trend (a) ($m)
Mar-19	26,331	26,521
Apr-19	26,737	26,531
May-19	26,964	26,557
Jun-19	26,540	26,584
Jul-19	26,662	26,649
Aug-19	26,786	26,768
Sep-19	27,490	26,805
Oct-19	27,549	26,740
Nov-19	26,464	26,608
Dec-19	26,837	26,441
Jan-20	25,640	26,287
Feb-20	25,190	26,203
Mar-20	25,038	-
Apr-20	25,146	-
May-20	24,032	-
Jun-20	24,244	-
Jul-20	25,826	-
Aug-20	26,088	-
Sep-20	24,419	-
Oct-20	25,101	-
Nov-20	27,438	-
Dec-20	26,623	-
Jan-21	26,273	-
Feb-21	27,615	-
Mar-21	28,315	-
Apr-21	27,445	-
May-21	28,087	-
Jun-21	28,519	-
Jul-21	28,587	-
Aug-21	29,236	-
Sep-21	28,266	-
Oct-21	28,123	-
Nov-21	30,823	-
Dec-21	32,998	-
Jan-22	31,562	-
Feb-22	36,959	-
Mar-22	34,652	-
Apr-22	34,479	35,116
May-22	36,834	35,766
Jun-22	35,923	36,464
Jul-22	37,074	37,163
Aug-22	38,649	37,509
Sep-22	38,299	37,564
Oct-22	37,527	37,317
Nov-22	36,358	36,909
Dec-22	36,534	36,474
Jan-23	38,863	36,096
Feb-23	34,728	35,784
Mar-23	35,896	35,578

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Goods debits(a), seasonally adjusted
			Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Total goods debits			-38,863	-34,728	-35,896	1,168	3.4
	General merchandise debits		-38,267	-33,943	-35,154	1,211	3.6
		Consumption goods	-12,635	-10,061	-11,475	1,414	14.1
		Capital goods	-9,999	-8,552	-8,341	-211	-2.5
		Intermediate and other merchandise goods	-15,632	-15,329	-15,338	9	0.1
	Non-monetary gold(b)		-596	-785	-742	-43	-5.5

a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
b. This component is not seasonally adjusted.

Consumption goods

Consumption goods(a), seasonally adjusted
	Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Consumption goods	-12,635	-10,061	-11,475	1,414	14.1
	Food and beverages, mainly for consumption	-1,691	-1,431	-1,623	192	13.4
	Household electrical items	-596	-617	-617	-	-
	Non-industrial transport equipment	-3,980	-2,483	-3,077	594	23.9
	Textiles, clothing and footwear	-1,988	-1,787	-1,929	142	7.9
	Toys, books and leisure goods	-752	-694	-700	6	0.9
	Consumption goods n.e.s.	-3,628	-3,050	-3,529	479	15.7

Capital goods

Capital goods(a), seasonally adjusted
	Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Capital goods	-9,999	-8,552	-8,341	-211	-2.5
	Machinery and industrial equipment	-3,003	-2,908	-3,009	101	3.5
	ADP equipment	-1,085	-1,125	-1,063	-62	-5.5
	Telecommunications equipment	-2,031	-1,497	-1,387	-110	-7.3
	Civil aircraft and confidentialised items(b)(c)	-214	-510	-319	-191	-37.5
	Industrial transport equipment n.e.s.	-2,108	-1,296	-1,351	55	4.2
	Capital goods n.e.s.(d)	-1,559	-1,216	-1,212	-4	-0.3

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

Intermediate and other merchandise goods(a), seasonally adjusted
	Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Intermediate and other merchandise goods	-15,632	-15,329	-15,338	9	0.1
	Food and beverages, mainly for industry	-258	-232	-238	6	2.6
	Primary industrial supplies n.e.s.(b)	-142	-189	-216	27	14.3
	Fuels and lubricants(c)	-5,073	-4,993	-4,971	-22	-0.4
	Parts for transport equipment	-1,485	-1,393	-1,394	1	0.1
	Parts for ADP equipment	-66	-72	-82	10	13.9
	Other parts for capital goods	-2,045	-1,966	-1,997	31	1.6
	Organic and inorganic chemicals	-537	-537	-543	6	1.1
	Paper and paperboard	-220	-212	-233	21	9.9
	Textile yarn and fabrics	-141	-129	-136	7	5.4
	Iron and steel	-346	-340	-355	15	4.4
	Plastics	-435	-434	-457	23	5.3
	Processed industrial supplies n.e.s.	-4,455	-4,380	-4,295	-85	-1.9
	Other merchandise goods(d)	-45	-77	-49	-28	-36.4
	Goods procured in ports by carriers(e)	-383	-375	-373	-2	-0.5

Services debits

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)
Mar-19	8,529
Apr-19	8,595
May-19	8,696
Jun-19	8,547
Jul-19	8,588
Aug-19	8,664
Sep-19	8,624
Oct-19	8,625
Nov-19	8,626
Dec-19	8,939
Jan-20	8,904
Feb-20	8,820
Mar-20	6,287
Apr-20	3,884
May-20	3,872
Jun-20	3,867
Jul-20	3,749
Aug-20	3,785
Sep-20	3,726
Oct-20	3,993
Nov-20	4,125
Dec-20	4,160
Jan-21	4,020
Feb-21	4,120
Mar-21	4,154
Apr-21	4,264
May-21	4,340
Jun-21	4,441
Jul-21	4,507
Aug-21	4,591
Sep-21	4,725
Oct-21	4,937
Nov-21	5,331
Dec-21	5,607
Jan-22	6,268
Feb-22	6,680
Mar-22	6,750
Apr-22	7,069
May-22	7,600
Jun-22	8,196
Jul-22	9,116
Aug-22	9,111
Sep-22	9,095
Oct-22	8,716
Nov-22	8,291
Dec-22	8,581
Jan-23	8,993
Feb-23	8,239
Mar-23	8,134

["","Seasonally Adjusted"]

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[]

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Services debits(a), seasonally adjusted
			Jan-23 ($m)	Feb-23 ($m)	Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 ($m)	Feb-23 to Mar-23 (%)
Total services debits			-8,993	-8,239	-8,134	-105	-1.3
	Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(b)		-	-	-	-	-
	Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(b)		-34	-46	-43	-3	-6.5
	Transport		-2,747	-2,460	-2,371	-89	-3.6
		Passenger(c)	-869	-843	-755	-88	-10.4
		Freight	-1,803	-1,541	-1,539	-2	-0.1
		Other(b)	-58	-58	-58	-	-
		Postal and courier services(d)(e)	-18	-18	-19	1	5.6
	Travel(f)		-2,956	-2,457	-2,435	-22	-0.9
	Other services		-3,256	-3,276	-3,285	9	0.3
Memorandum item
	Tourism related services debits(g)		-3,825	-3,300	-3,190	-110	-3.3

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. For sign conventions, see the methodology page.
b. This component is not seasonally adjusted.
c. Passenger services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
d. Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
e. In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
f. Monthly estimates of Travel Service debits are now labelled preliminary.
g. For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see the methodology page.

Supplementary information

Selected commodities

Selected commodities, quantities (a)
	Oct-22 (%)	Nov-22 (%)	Dec-22 (%)	Jan-23 (%)	Feb-23 (%)	Mar-23 (%)
Iron ore - Lump	-0.3	2.2	7.5	-7.7	-17.7	20.2
Iron ore - Fines	0.2	1.0	6.2	-7.7	-13.4	19.2
Coal - Hard coking	-5.1	5.3	2.2	-15.5	-13.6	21.2
Coal - Semi-soft	-2.8	4.2	4.2	-14.9	-21.9	21.0
Coal - Thermal	8.5	-9.1	28.6	-11.9	-9.3	20.4
Gas - LNG	2.7	-4.9	2.7	-0.5	-5.4	7.0

a. Data in this table is on a revised international merchandise trade basis.

Selected commodities, unit values (a)
	Oct-22 (%)	Nov-22 (%)	Dec-22 (%)	Jan-23 (%)	Feb-23 (%)	Mar-23 (%)
Iron ore - Lump	4.0	-7.8	11.8	5.9	4.7	2.8
Iron ore - Fines	-1.1	-3.3	14.0	8.2	2.9	4.8
Coal - Hard coking	7.0	-0.4	-3.4	-3.5	18.7	-22.5
Coal - Semi-soft	1.9	-6.1	-1.8	-4.0	5.0	-9.8
Coal - Thermal	-0.5	-2.7	-10.2	-6.7	-9.3	-13.3
Gas - LNG	-3.1	-14.7	0.9	-0.7	-13.0	-5.1

a. Data in this table is on a revised international merchandise trade basis and excludes value adjustments applied to balance of payments series.

Selected commodity movements

On an international merchandise trade basis, in original terms (noting the footnote in the above table), between February 2023 and March 2023 the largest movements recorded for the following selected commodities were:

Iron ore (lump), movement by country, Feb-23 to Mar-23
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (lump) - Total movement	584	23.6	20.2	2.8
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	566	27.9	24.3	2.9
Japan	32	15.3	16.6	-1.1
Taiwan	11	11.4	7.0	4.1
Malaysia	-11	-100.0	-100.0	-
Vietnam	-34	-81.2	-82.9	9.6

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Iron ore (fines), movement by country, Feb-23 to Mar-23
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (fines) - Total movement	1,798	24.9	19.2	4.8
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	1,449	22.5	17.7	4.0
Japan	129	53.0	36.9	11.8
Indonesia	95	631.3	499.9	21.9
Taiwan	55	99.3	75.1	13.8
Vietnam	36	59.6	68.2	-5.1

Hard coking (high rank) coal, movement by country, Feb-23 to Mar-23
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
High rank coal - Total movement	-181	-6.1	21.2	-22.5
Brazil	-104	-60.2	-49.7	-20.8
Korea, Republic of (South)	-103	-24.7	-3.3	-22.0
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	-81	-52.6	-63.4	29.5
India	95	13.8	66.3	-31.6
Netherlands	112	50.3	80.2	-16.6

Semi soft coal, movement by country, Feb-23 to Mar-23
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Semi soft coal - Total movement	112	9.1	21.0	-9.8
Taiwan	87	295.5	260.0	9.9
Spain	52	-	-	-
Japan	46	10.9	23.5	-10.2
Korea, Republic of (South)	-56	-17.8	-9.0	-9.7
Brazil	-56	-62.7	-54.9	-17.2

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Thermal coal, movement by country, Feb-23 to Mar-23
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Thermal coal - Total movement	207	4.4	20.4	-13.3
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	354	121.6	125.4	-1.7
Taiwan	175	24.6	31.1	-4.9
Vietnam	64	35.1	40.7	-4.0
India	-90	-99.6	-99.3	-45.8
Japan	-362	-12.8	-5.2	-8.0

Liquid Natural Gas, total movement, Feb-23 to Mar-23
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) - Total movement	108	1.5	7.0	-5.1

Selected commodities, quantity and unit value analysis - International merchandise trade basis: Original terms

International merchandise trade exports data presented in the above tables are based on information reported by exporters to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to Home Affairs. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to Home Affairs. When additional information for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Unit values in this publication are presented in Australian dollar terms. Movements in the unit values for some commodities incorporate movements in the United States dollar prices reported to Home Affairs and movements in the Australian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate.

Value adjustments

Goods credits on an international merchandise trade basis

On a merchandise trade basis, adjustments have been applied to iron ore lump and iron ore fines. When actual final transaction prices become available estimates are replaced with these data. For price and volume details, see the Selected commodities section.

Iron Ore Adjustment, Original Terms
	Sep-22($m)	Oct-22($m)	Nov-22($m)	Dec-22($m)	Jan-23($m)	Feb-23($m)	Mar-23($m)
Iron ore lump	-10	0	15	20	30	-5	0
Iron ore fines	0	-5	15	20	-5	-75	-25

Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

Coal (in original terms)

On a balance of payments basis, adjustments have been applied to the coal, coke and briquettes component in November (+$10m), December (+$35m) 2022, January (+$60m), February (+$55m), and March (+$1,480m) 2023 This adjustment takes into account additional information on the unit value of hard coking, semi-soft and thermal coal exports. All previous adjustments have been removed.

In the international merchandise trade series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes rose 0.6% between January 2023 and February 2023 and fell 15.9% between February 2023 and March 2023.

In the balance of payments series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes rose 0.6% between January 2023 and February 2023 and fell 2.8% between February 2023 and March 2023.

International merchandise trade exports data presented in this publication are based on information reported by exporters to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). At the time of initial reporting to Home Affairs, the final prices at which transactions take place are not known for some commodities. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to Home Affairs.

For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to Home Affairs. When additional information on quantity and/or unit price for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Iron ore adjustments are applied on an international merchandise trade basis at the Australian Harmonized Export Commodity Classification (AHECC) level. Coal, coke and briquettes are adjusted on a balance of payments basis in current price, original terms. When actual final transaction prices become available estimates are replaced with these data.

In most instances, transfer of ownership occurs when goods cross the customs frontier. In certain circumstances the change of ownership of large value capital expenditure items can occur prior to the items crossing the customs frontier. The ABS may adjust the relevant balance of payments series to record the timing when transfer of ownership was affected.

Revisions

Confidential Commodities List

COVID-19 in this publication

Extraordinary Annual Seasonal Review (EASR)

In early 2020, the ABS advised that the method used to produce seasonally adjusted estimates would be changed from the ‘concurrent adjustment’ method to the ‘forward factors’ method for series with significant and prolonged impacts from COVID-19. This process ensured that disruption to series caused by COVID-19 did not unduly affect estimates of the seasonal factors. Further information can be found here: Methods changes during COVID-19 period. Given the ongoing disruption during the COVID-19 period and continuing use of forward factors, extraordinary annual reviews of seasonally adjusted series were introduced across the ABS statistics programs.

The extraordinary annual review process assesses each series individually to determine how observations from 2020, 2021 and 2022 should be treated and determine the most appropriate approach (concurrent adjustment or forward factors) for estimating seasonal adjustment factors in the immediate future. For some series, reverting back to the concurrent seasonal adjustment method from forward factors may result in larger revisions as the forward factors are annually updated from previous year’s observations.

An extraordinary annual seasonal review process was undertaken this month resulting in the reinstatement of concurrent seasonal adjustment method for all monthly Balance of Payments series. Revisions arising from the annual seasonal review are relatively minor for most series.

From the March 2023 publication onwards, the forward factors method will no longer be used.

Suspension of trend estimates

The trend series attempts to measure underlying behaviour in international trade activity. In the short term, this measurement will be significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent changes to regular patterns in international trade resulting from it. If the trend estimates in this publication were to be calculated without fully accounting for this unusual event, they would provide a misleading view of underlying international trade activity.

It may be some time before the underlying trend in international trade activity can be accurately estimated. The trend series has therefore been suspended for Services credits and debits from March 2019 and will be reinstated when more certainty emerges.

The trend series for Goods credits and debits have been reviewed and reinstated.

Data downloads

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Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Table 1. Goods and services, summary - seasonally adjusted and trend estimates, current prices
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Table 2. Goods and services, summary - original, current prices
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Table 3. Goods credits, original, current prices
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Table 4. Goods debits, original, current prices
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Table 5. Goods credits, seasonally adjusted, current prices
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Table 6. Goods debits, seasonally adjusted, current prices
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Table 7. Goods credits, trend estimates, current prices
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Table 8. Goods debits, trend estimates, current prices
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Table 9. Services, summary - original, current prices
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Table 10. Services, summary - seasonally adjusted and trend estimates, current prices
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Table 12a. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), FOB value
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Table 12b. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), FOB value
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Table 13a. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), customs value
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Table 13b. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), customs value
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Table 14a. Merchandise exports, by country, FOB value
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Table 14b. Merchandise imports, by country, customs value
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Table 15a. Merchandise exports, state and Australia, FOB value
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Table 15b. Merchandise imports, state and Australia, customs value
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Table 16. Period average exchange rates, units of foreign currency per Australian dollar
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Table 17. Summary of revisions, goods and services
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Table 31. Merchandise exports, broad economic category, FOB value
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Table 32a. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), FOB value
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Table 32b. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), FOB value
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Table 33. Merchandise imports, broad economic category, customs value
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Table 34. Merchandise imports, balance of payments broad economic category, customs value
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Table 35a. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), customs value
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Table 35b. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), customs value
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Table 36a. Merchandise exports, state of origin New South Wales, by country, FOB value
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Table 36b. Merchandise exports, state of origin Victoria, by country, FOB value
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Table 36c. Merchandise exports, state of origin Queensland, by country, FOB value
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Table 36d. Merchandise exports, state of origin South Australia, by country, FOB value
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Table 36e. Merchandise exports, state of origin Western Australia, by country, FOB value
Download xlsx [447.24 KB]
Table 36f. Merchandise exports, state of origin Tasmania, by country, FOB value
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Table 36g. Merchandise exports, state of origin Northern Territory, by country, FOB value
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Table 36h. Merchandise exports, state of origin Australian Capital Territory, by country, FOB value
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Table 36i. Merchandise exports, state of origin not available, by country, FOB value
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Table 36j. Merchandise exports, re-exports, by country, FOB value
Download xlsx [417.93 KB]
Table 37a. Merchandise imports, state of destination New South Wales, by country, customs value
Download xlsx [462.79 KB]
Table 37b. Merchandise imports, state of destination Victoria, by country, customs value
Download xlsx [457.47 KB]
Table 37c. Merchandise imports, state of destination Queensland, by country, customs value
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Table 37d. Merchandise imports, state of destination South Australia, by country, customs value
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Table 37e. Merchandise imports, state of destination Western Australia, by country, customs value
Download xlsx [431.46 KB]
Table 37f. Merchandise imports, state of destination Tasmania, by country, customs value
Download xlsx [380.33 KB]
Table 37g. Merchandise imports, state of destination Northern Territory, by country, customs value
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Table 37h. Merchandise imports, state of destination Australian Capital Territory, by country, customs value
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Table 37i. Merchandise imports, state of destination not available, by country, customs value
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Table 91. Monthly combined seasonal adjustment factors
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Table 92. Confidential commodities list
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Download all (401.67 KB)

Data Cubes

Data files

Table 18. Balance of payments broad economic categories (detailed level), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)
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Table 19. Balance of payments broad economic categories (1 and 2 digit), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)
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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5368.0.

Methodology

International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia methodology, March 2023

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APA

International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Monthly Travel Services debits (imports) estimates now labelled as preliminary

Trade overview

Balance on goods and services

Review of seasonal adjustment

Goods and services credits

Goods credits (exports), seasonally adjusted

Rural goods

Non-rural goods

Services credits

Goods and services debits

Goods debits (imports), seasonally adjusted

Consumption goods

Capital goods

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

Services debits

Supplementary information

Selected commodities

Selected commodity movements

Selected commodities, quantity and unit value analysis - International merchandise trade basis: Original terms

Value adjustments

Goods credits on an international merchandise trade basis

Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

Revisions

Confidential Commodities List

Confidential Commodities List

COVID-19 in this publication

Extraordinary Annual Seasonal Review (EASR)

Suspension of trend estimates

Data downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Table 1. Goods and services, summary - seasonally adjusted and trend estimates, current prices

Table 2. Goods and services, summary - original, current prices

Table 3. Goods credits, original, current prices

Table 4. Goods debits, original, current prices

Table 5. Goods credits, seasonally adjusted, current prices

Table 6. Goods debits, seasonally adjusted, current prices

Table 7. Goods credits, trend estimates, current prices

Table 8. Goods debits, trend estimates, current prices

Table 9. Services, summary - original, current prices

Table 10. Services, summary - seasonally adjusted and trend estimates, current prices

Table 12a. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), FOB value

Table 12b. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), FOB value

Table 13a. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), customs value

Table 13b. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), customs value

Table 14a. Merchandise exports, by country, FOB value

Table 14b. Merchandise imports, by country, customs value

Table 15a. Merchandise exports, state and Australia, FOB value

Table 15b. Merchandise imports, state and Australia, customs value

Table 16. Period average exchange rates, units of foreign currency per Australian dollar

Table 17. Summary of revisions, goods and services

Table 31. Merchandise exports, broad economic category, FOB value

Table 32a. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), FOB value

Table 32b. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), FOB value

Table 33. Merchandise imports, broad economic category, customs value

Table 34. Merchandise imports, balance of payments broad economic category, customs value

Table 35a. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), customs value

Table 35b. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), customs value

Table 36a. Merchandise exports, state of origin New South Wales, by country, FOB value

Table 36b. Merchandise exports, state of origin Victoria, by country, FOB value

Table 36c. Merchandise exports, state of origin Queensland, by country, FOB value

Table 36d. Merchandise exports, state of origin South Australia, by country, FOB value

Table 36e. Merchandise exports, state of origin Western Australia, by country, FOB value

Table 36f. Merchandise exports, state of origin Tasmania, by country, FOB value

Table 36g. Merchandise exports, state of origin Northern Territory, by country, FOB value

Table 36h. Merchandise exports, state of origin Australian Capital Territory, by country, FOB value

Table 36i. Merchandise exports, state of origin not available, by country, FOB value

Table 36j. Merchandise exports, re-exports, by country, FOB value

Table 37a. Merchandise imports, state of destination New South Wales, by country, customs value

Table 37b. Merchandise imports, state of destination Victoria, by country, customs value

Table 37c. Merchandise imports, state of destination Queensland, by country, customs value

Table 37d. Merchandise imports, state of destination South Australia, by country, customs value

Table 37e. Merchandise imports, state of destination Western Australia, by country, customs value

Table 37f. Merchandise imports, state of destination Tasmania, by country, customs value

Table 37g. Merchandise imports, state of destination Northern Territory, by country, customs value

Table 37h. Merchandise imports, state of destination Australian Capital Territory, by country, customs value

Table 37i. Merchandise imports, state of destination not available, by country, customs value