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International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

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

Reference period

March 2022

Released

5/05/2022

View all releases

Key statistics

The seasonally adjusted balance on goods and services surplus increased $1,877m to $9,314m in March.
Goods and services debits (imports) fell $1,949m (5%) to $40,139m, driven by decreases in imports of Processed industrial supplies n.e.s and Consumption goods n.e.s..
Goods and services credits (exports) fell $72m (0%) to $49,453m, driven by falls in exports of Non-monetary gold and Cereal grains and cereal preparations.

Main features

Key Figures, Seasonally Adjusted
		Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Balance on goods and services		12,407	7,437	9,314	1,877	na
	Credits (Exports of goods & services)	49,506	49,525	49,453	-72	-
	Debits (Imports of goods & services)	-37,099	-42,088	-40,139	-1,949	-5

na not applicable
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Balance on goods and services
	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)
Dec-20	8,155
Jan-21	9,744
Feb-21	8,708
Mar-21	7,020
Apr-21	9,242
May-21	10,109
Jun-21	11,420
Jul-21	12,793
Aug-21	12,153
Sep-21	10,710
Oct-21	10,495
Nov-21	9,288
Dec-21	8,154
Jan-22	12,407
Feb-22	7,437
Mar-22	9,314

Balance on goods and services

["","Seasonally Adjusted"]

[["Dec-20","Jan-21","Feb-21","Mar-21","Apr-21","May-21","Jun-21","Jul-21","Aug-21","Sep-21","Oct-21","Nov-21","Dec-21","Jan-22","Feb-22","Mar-22"],[[8155],[9744],[8708],[7020],[9242],[10109],[11420],[12793],[12153],[10710],[10495],[9288],[8154],[12407],[7437],[9314]]]

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COVID-19

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 from March 2019 and will be reinstated when more certainty emerges.

Seasonal adjustment and COVID-19

International Accounts uses the concurrent seasonal adjustment method, meaning that seasonal factors are re-estimated each time new data becomes available. If not appropriately accounted for, unusual events such as COVID-19 can distort estimates calculated using this method. From March 2020, seasonal factors for series that have been notably impacted by COVID-19 will be calculated using data up to and including February 2020, then projected from March 2020 onwards. This approach, known as the forward factor method, ensures that seasonal factors are not distorted by COVID-19 impacts.

The ABS has advised users that it moved to using forward factors for seasonal analysis of a number of series, including Travel Services. Current ABS (and international) practice requires at least three years of data to assess whether a change in seasonal pattern has occurred. Should COVID-19 result in a long-term change to the seasonal pattern then revisions to these series may occur in the future. The ABS will consult with users on any future methods changes to seasonal adjustment and potential revisions. The Feature Article International travel services time series outlines the matter in greater detail.

Quality of international trade in services statistics

Monthly International Trade in Services statistics (ITS) are compiled using multiple data sources. These data, compared with the publication reference period, are lagged. The lag in data results in most ITS estimates being nowcast when initially published. In recent times, these estimates have been more volatile, due in part to COVID-19 but also due to services data availability. While the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) make every effort to ensure estimates of monthly ITS are reflective and robust, in the current environment, the ABS recommends monthly services estimates be interpreted and used with caution. The International Trade in Services; Concepts, Source and Methods outlines this in further detail.

Changes to timing of release of International Trade, Supplementary Information, financial year (2020-21) and calendar year (2021)

COVID-19 has impacted the availability and quality of source data used to compile international trade in services estimates. As a result the 2020-2021 and 2021 International Trade, Supplementary Information publications (former cat. Nos. 5368.0.55.003 and 5368.0.55.004) have been delayed. Both publications are expected to be released commencing from June 2022.

Changes in this issue

Upcoming changes to the International Merchandise Trade: Confidential Commodities List

The March 2022 reference month (released 28th April 2022) was the final issue of the International Merchandise Trade: Confidential Commodities List publication. From the April 2022 reference month the International merchandise trade: Confidential Commodities List (Tables 1-4) datacube will be available as an additional download in the monthly International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia publication (released 2nd June 2022).

The Confidential Commodities List (CCL) is needed to interpret the impact of confidentiality on merchandise trade statistics in International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia and other international trade in good statistics. This change improves interpretability of the monthly data at the time it is released.

Review of seasonal adjustment

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. Given the ongoing disruption during the COVID-19 period and continuing use of forward factors, extraordinary annual reviews of seasonally adjusted series are progressively being undertaken across the ABS statistics programs.

The extraordinary annual review process assesses each series individually to determine how observations from 2020 and 2021 should be treated and determine the most appropriate approach (concurrent adjustment or forward factors) for estimating seasonal adjustment factors in the immediate future. Revisions arising from the annual review are relatively minor for most series, but series which have used forward factors are likely to have larger revisions because the seasonal factor estimates are annually updated to incorporate information from the previous year's observations.
The outcome of the review for Balance of Payments statistics is that the forward factor method will continue to be used for the Travel Services (credits and debits) and Transport - passenger (credits and debits) series. New forward factors have been calculated for the next 12 months and will be used from March 2022.

Further information can be found here.

Balance on goods and services

In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $9,314m in March 2022, an increase of $1,877m on the surplus in February 2022.

Balance on goods and services(a), seasonally adjusted
			Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Balance on goods and services			12,407	7,437	9,314	1,877	na
	Total goods and services credits		49,506	49,525	49,453	-72	-
		Total goods credits	44,734	44,737	44,678	-59	-
		Total services credits	4,772	4,789	4,775	-14	-
	Total goods and services debits		-37,099	-42,088	-40,139	-1,949	-5
		Total goods debits	-31,548	-36,213	-34,342	-1,871	-5
		Total services debits	-5,551	-5,875	-5,796	-79	-1

na not applicable
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) For sign conventions, see the Explanatory notes.

Goods and services credits (exports), seasonally adjusted

Goods credits

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)	Trend (a) ($m)
Mar-18	26,845	27,147
Apr-18	27,139	27,657
May-18	28,184	28,184
Jun-18	29,050	28,761
Jul-18	29,374	29,319
Aug-18	29,841	29,770
Sep-18	30,006	30,059
Oct-18	30,581	30,268
Nov-18	30,598	30,456
Dec-18	30,175	30,693
Jan-19	31,408	31,020
Feb-19	31,544	31,515
Mar-19	30,502	-
Apr-19	31,574	-
May-19	34,032	-
Jun-19	34,201	-
Jul-19	34,954	-
Aug-19	33,092	-
Sep-19	33,745	-
Oct-19	31,536	-
Nov-19	31,860	-
Dec-19	32,108	-
Jan-20	30,782	-
Feb-20	28,577	-
Mar-20	34,404	-
Apr-20	31,804	-
May-20	29,344	-
Jun-20	29,441	-
Jul-20	28,753	-
Aug-20	27,754	-
Sep-20	28,597	-
Oct-20	30,330	-
Nov-20	31,519	-
Dec-20	33,293	-
Jan-21	34,627	-
Feb-21	34,844	-
Mar-21	34,422	-
Apr-21	35,786	-
May-21	37,423	-
Jun-21	38,993	-
Jul-21	40,925	-
Aug-21	41,816	-
Sep-21	39,063	-
Oct-21	38,900	-
Nov-21	40,614	-
Dec-21	41,180	-
Jan-22	44,734	-
Feb-22	44,737	-
Mar-22	44,678	-

["","Seasonally Adjusted","Trend (a)"]

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(a) Trend series suspended from March 2019.

Goods credits, seasonally adjusted
			Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Total goods credits			44,734	44,737	44,678	-59	-
	General merchandise		42,734	42,378	42,811	433	1
		Rural goods	5,598	5,516	5,338	-178	-3
		Non-rural goods	37,136	36,862	37,473	611	2
	Net exports of goods under merchanting(a)		31	31	32	1	3
	Non-monetary gold(a)		1,969	2,328	1,835	-493	-21

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) This component is not seasonally adjusted.

Rural goods

Rural goods, seasonally adjusted
	Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Rural goods	5,598	5,516	5,338	-178	-3
	Meat and meat preparations	1,351	1,262	1,380	118	9
	Cereal grains and cereal preparations	1,370	1,552	1,349	-203	-13
	Wool and sheepskins	269	282	258	-24	-9
	Other rural(a)	2,608	2,421	2,350	-71	-3

Non-rural goods

Non-rural goods, seasonally adjusted
		Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Non-rural goods	37,136	36,862	37,473	611	2
	Metal ores and minerals	14,380	14,082	14,201	119	1
	Coal, coke and briquettes	9,404	9,470	9,646	176	2
	Other mineral fuels(a)	6,891	7,221	7,346	125	2
	Metals (excl. non-monetary gold)	1,217	1,128	1,255	127	11
	Machinery	1,100	942	984	42	4
	Transport equipment	381	410	279	-131	-32
	Other manufactures	2,177	2,049	2,065	16	1
	Other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages)(b)	1,315	1,238	1,388	150	12
	Goods procured in ports by carriers(a)	271	321	308	-13	-4

Services credits

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)	Trend (a) ($m)
Mar-18	7,483	7,488
Apr-18	7,552	7,555
May-18	7,556	7,613
Jun-18	7,662	7,675
Jul-18	7,730	7,748
Aug-18	7,853	7,826
Sep-18	7,910	7,897
Oct-18	8,006	7,957
Nov-18	8,004	8,011
Dec-18	7,991	8,061
Jan-19	8,073	8,111
Feb-19	8,261	8,161
Mar-19	8,234	-
Apr-19	8,242	-
May-19	8,311	-
Jun-19	8,409	-
Jul-19	8,524	-
Aug-19	8,667	-
Sep-19	8,728	-
Oct-19	8,834	-
Nov-19	8,859	-
Dec-19	8,770	-
Jan-20	8,186	-
Feb-20	7,471	-
Mar-20	6,903	-
Apr-20	5,417	-
May-20	5,579	-
Jun-20	5,736	-
Jul-20	5,273	-
Aug-20	5,101	-
Sep-20	5,293	-
Oct-20	5,390	-
Nov-20	5,466	-
Dec-20	5,363	-
Jan-21	5,308	-
Feb-21	5,127	-
Mar-21	4,988	-
Apr-21	4,947	-
May-21	5,126	-
Jun-21	5,285	-
Jul-21	4,833	-
Aug-21	4,740	-
Sep-21	4,834	-
Oct-21	4,630	-
Nov-21	4,681	-
Dec-21	4,712	-
Jan-22	4,772	-
Feb-22	4,789	-
Mar-22	4,775	-

["","Seasonally Adjusted","Trend (a)"]

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(a) Trend series suspended from March 2019.

Services credits, seasonally adjusted
			Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Total services credits			4,772	4,789	4,775	-14	-
	Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(a)		-	-	-	-	-
	Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(a)		6	1	-	-1	-100
	Transport		352	356	365	9	3
		Passenger(b)(c)	26	30	40	10	33
		Freight(d)	29	30	30	-	-
		Other	161	161	161	-	-
		Postal and courier services(e)	135	135	135	-	-
	Travel(c)		1,628	1,627	1,583	-44	-3
	Other services		2,786	2,804	2,827	23	1
Memorandum item
	Tourism related services credits(f)		1,655	1,657	1,623	-34	-2

- 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) This component has been seasonally adjusted using the forward factor method since March 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19.
(d) In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
(e) Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
(f) For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see the Explanatory notes.

Goods and services debits (imports), seasonally adjusted

Goods debits

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)	Trend (a) ($m)
Mar-18	26,045	26,099
Apr-18	25,255	26,256
May-18	26,729	26,431
Jun-18	27,137	26,703
Jul-18	26,570	26,979
Aug-18	27,187	27,114
Sep-18	26,834	27,105
Oct-18	27,319	26,966
Nov-18	27,396	26,779
Dec-18	25,006	26,653
Jan-19	27,116	26,590
Feb-19	26,779	26,583
Mar-19	26,257	-
Apr-19	26,638	-
May-19	27,028	-
Jun-19	26,439	-
Jul-19	26,645	-
Aug-19	26,812	-
Sep-19	27,510	-
Oct-19	27,606	-
Nov-19	26,281	-
Dec-19	26,542	-
Jan-20	25,629	-
Feb-20	24,722	-
Mar-20	24,862	-
Apr-20	25,103	-
May-20	23,958	-
Jun-20	24,203	-
Jul-20	25,771	-
Aug-20	26,271	-
Sep-20	24,420	-
Oct-20	25,111	-
Nov-20	27,404	-
Dec-20	26,349	-
Jan-21	26,182	-
Feb-21	27,180	-
Mar-21	28,258	-
Apr-21	27,261	-
May-21	28,124	-
Jun-21	28,448	-
Jul-21	28,420	-
Aug-21	29,774	-
Sep-21	28,416	-
Oct-21	28,076	-
Nov-21	30,698	-
Dec-21	32,392	-
Jan-22	31,548	-
Feb-22	36,213	-
Mar-22	34,342	-

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(a) Trend series suspended from March 2019.

Goods debits (imports) (a), seasonally adjusted
			Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Total goods debits			-31,548	-36,213	-34,342	-1,871	-5
	General merchandise debits		-31,034	-35,631	-33,740	-1,891	-5
		Consumption goods	-9,928	-11,515	-10,553	-962	-8
		Capital goods	-7,259	-7,899	-7,668	-231	-3
		Intermediate and other merchandise goods	-13,847	-16,217	-15,520	-697	-4
	Non-monetary gold(b)		-514	-582	-602	20	3

(a) For sign conventions, see the Explanatory notes.
(b) This component is not seasonally adjusted.

Consumption goods

Consumption goods(a), seasonally adjusted
	Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Consumption goods	-9,928	-11,515	-10,553	-962	-8
	Food and beverages, mainly for consumption	-1,419	-1,503	-1,529	26	2
	Household electrical items	-623	-764	-649	-115	-15
	Non-industrial transport equipment	-2,282	-2,710	-2,639	-71	-3
	Textiles, clothing and footwear	-1,708	-2,059	-1,790	-269	-13
	Toys, books and leisure goods	-690	-781	-713	-68	-9
	Consumption goods n.e.s.	-3,206	-3,697	-3,234	-463	-13

Capital goods

Capital goods(a), seasonally adjusted
	Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Capital goods	-7,259	-7,899	-7,668	-231	-3
	Machinery and industrial equipment	-2,373	-2,480	-2,776	296	12
	ADP equipment	-1,286	-1,294	-1,298	4	-
	Telecommunications equipment	-1,228	-1,397	-1,294	-103	-7
	Civil aircraft and confidentialised items(b)(c)	-755	-396	-461	65	16
	Industrial transport equipment n.e.s.	-1,296	-1,236	-1,151	-85	-7
	Capital goods n.e.s.(d)	-322	-1,096	-688	-408	-37

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

Intermediate and other merchandise goods(a), seasonally adjusted
	Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Intermediate and other merchandise goods	-13,847	-16,217	-15,520	-697	-4
	Food and beverages, mainly for industry	-206	-208	-210	2	1
	Primary industrial supplies n.e.s.(b)	-180	-157	-199	42	27
	Fuels and lubricants(c)	-3,728	-4,390	-4,365	-25	-1
	Parts for transport equipment	-1,237	-1,301	-1,320	19	1
	Parts for ADP equipment	-87	-93	-55	-38	-41
	Other parts for capital goods	-1,807	-1,946	-1,851	-95	-5
	Organic and inorganic chemicals	-570	-590	-556	-34	-6
	Paper and paperboard	-181	-226	-241	15	7
	Textile yarn and fabrics	-146	-164	-158	-6	-4
	Iron and steel	-487	-488	-479	-9	-2
	Plastics	-464	-551	-542	-9	-2
	Processed industrial supplies n.e.s.	-4,728	-6,064	-5,504	-560	-9
	Other merchandise goods(d)	-17	-32	-30	-2	-6
	Goods procured in ports by carriers(e)	-8	-9	-9	-	-

Services debits

	Seasonally Adjusted ($m)	Trend (a) ($m)
Mar-18	8,100	8,082
Apr-18	8,179	8,170
May-18	8,188	8,250
Jun-18	8,323	8,330
Jul-18	8,469	8,400
Aug-18	8,431	8,453
Sep-18	8,442	8,479
Oct-18	8,544	8,476
Nov-18	8,530	8,452
Dec-18	8,354	8,431
Jan-19	8,380	8,430
Feb-19	8,394	8,453
Mar-19	8,494	-
Apr-19	8,609	-
May-19	8,679	-
Jun-19	8,550	-
Jul-19	8,574	-
Aug-19	8,681	-
Sep-19	8,557	-
Oct-19	8,567	-
Nov-19	8,478	-
Dec-19	8,552	-
Jan-20	8,543	-
Feb-20	8,316	-
Mar-20	5,965	-
Apr-20	3,845	-
May-20	3,827	-
Jun-20	3,848	-
Jul-20	3,766	-
Aug-20	3,822	-
Sep-20	3,753	-
Oct-20	4,033	-
Nov-20	4,158	-
Dec-20	4,152	-
Jan-21	4,009	-
Feb-21	4,083	-
Mar-21	4,133	-
Apr-21	4,231	-
May-21	4,315	-
Jun-21	4,410	-
Jul-21	4,544	-
Aug-21	4,629	-
Sep-21	4,771	-
Oct-21	4,959	-
Nov-21	5,309	-
Dec-21	5,346	-
Jan-22	5,551	-
Feb-22	5,875	-
Mar-22	5,796	-

["","Seasonally Adjusted","Trend (a)"]

[["Mar-18","Apr-18","May-18","Jun-18","Jul-18","Aug-18","Sep-18","Oct-18","Nov-18","Dec-18","Jan-19","Feb-19","Mar-19","Apr-19","May-19","Jun-19","Jul-19","Aug-19","Sep-19","Oct-19","Nov-19","Dec-19","Jan-20","Feb-20","Mar-20","Apr-20","May-20","Jun-20","Jul-20","Aug-20","Sep-20","Oct-20","Nov-20","Dec-20","Jan-21","Feb-21","Mar-21","Apr-21","May-21","Jun-21","Jul-21","Aug-21","Sep-21","Oct-21","Nov-21","Dec-21","Jan-22","Feb-22","Mar-22"],[[8100],[8179],[8188],[8323],[8469],[8431],[8442],[8544],[8530],[8354],[8380],[8394],[8494],[8609],[8679],[8550],[8574],[8681],[8557],[8567],[8478],[8552],[8543],[8316],[5965],[3845],[3827],[3848],[3766],[3822],[3753],[4033],[4158],[4152],[4009],[4083],[4133],[4231],[4315],[4410],[4544],[4629],[4771],[4959],[5309],[5346],[5551],[5875],[5796]],[[8082],[8170],[8250],[8330],[8400],[8453],[8479],[8476],[8452],[8431],[8430],[8453],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"12","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"$m","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(m)","table_units":"($m)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"$","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

(a) Trend series suspended from March 2019.

Services debits(a), seasonally adjusted
			Jan-22 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 ($m)	Feb-22 to Mar-22 (%)
Total services debits			-5,551	-5,875	-5,796	-79	-1
	Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(b)		-	-	-	-	-
	Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(b)		-30	-20	-51	31	155
	Transport		-2,314	-2,597	-2,476	-121	-5
		Passenger(c)(d)	-212	-218	-225	7	3
		Freight	-2,051	-2,327	-2,198	-129	-6
		Other(b)	-16	-16	-16	-	-
		Postal and courier services(e)(f)	-35	-36	-36	-	-
	Travel(d)		-155	-180	-171	-9	-5
	Other services		-3,053	-3,078	-3,099	21	1
Memorandum item
	Tourism related services debits(g)		-366	-398	-396	-2	-1

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells).
(a) For sign conventions, see the Explanatory Notes.
(b) This component is not seasonally adjusted.
(c) Passenger services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
(d) This component has been seasonally adjusted using the forward factor method since March 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19.
(e) Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
(f) In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
(g) For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see the Explanatory notes.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 5368.0.

Supplementary information

Selected commodities

Selected commodities, quantities (a)
	Oct-21 (%)	Nov-21 (%)	Dec-21 (%)	Jan-22 (%)	Feb-22 (%)	Mar-22 (%)
Iron ore - Lump	-15	16	8	-17	-18	29
Iron ore - Fines	-2	-6	15	-8	-15	14
Coal - Hard coking	7	-10	6	7	-20	12
Coal - Semi-soft	-7	-4	-14	14	-11	20
Coal - Thermal	-7	-1	5	2	-19	-
Gas - LNG	3	-2	-	-8	1	7

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) Data in this table is on a revised international merchandise trade basis and excludes value adjustments applied to balance of payments series.

Selected commodities, unit values (a)
	Oct-21 (%)	Nov-21 (%)	Dec-21 (%)	Jan-22 (%)	Feb-22 (%)	Mar-22 (%)
Iron ore - Lump	-7	-10	11	15	12	-
Iron ore - Fines	-19	-11	15	18	12	1
Coal - Hard coking	30	16	-2	4	2	-29
Coal - Semi-soft	27	17	2	2	12	-15
Coal - Thermal	19	12	-10	11	11	2
Gas - LNG	10	14	-1	3	-3	-4

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(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 2022 and March 2022 the largest movements recorded for the following selected commodities were:

Iron ore (lump), movement by country, Feb-22 to Mar-22
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (lump) - Total movement	693	29	29	-
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	622	35	34	1
Japan	145	61	58	2
Vietnam	42	-	-	-
Malaysia	-27	-100	-100	-
Taiwan	-84	-46	-53	14

Iron ore (fines), movement by country, Feb-22 to Mar-22
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Iron ore (fines) - Total movement	1,083	15	14	1
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	889	15	12	2
Japan	158	55	55	-
Korea, Republic of (South)	75	20	27	-5
Indonesia	-24	-36	-36	-1
Taiwan	-38	-34	-37	5

Hard coking (high rank) coal, Feb-22 to Mar-22
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
High rank coal - Total movement	-760	-21	12	-29
India	-356	-29	10	-35
Japan	-154	-26	5	-30
Poland	-96	-70	-69	-2
Germany	-74	-100	-100	-
Indonesia	-72	-80	-55	-56

Semi soft coal, movement by country, Feb-22 to Mar-22
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Semi soft coal - Total movement	31	2	20	-15
Japan	84	21	51	-20
Taiwan	69	106	133	-11
Korea, Republic of (South)	66	23	20	2
Indonesia	-53	-100	-100	-
Vietnam	-58	-52	-42	-17

Thermal Coal, movement by country, Feb-22 to Mar-22
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Thermal coal - Total movement	75	2	-	2
Taiwan	311	153	98	28
Chile	98	341	228	35
Netherlands	62	-	-	-
Malaysia	-191	-76	-72	-12
Japan	-297	-15	-12	-4

Liquid Natural Gas, total movement, Feb-22 to Mar-22
	Value ($m)	Value (%)	Quantity (%)	Unit Value (%)
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) - Total movement	162	3	7	-4

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-21 ($m)	Oct-21 ($m)	Nov-21 ($m)	Dec-21 ($m)	Jan-21 ($m)	Feb-22 ($m)	Mar-22 ($m)
Iron ore lump	-20	-10	35	55	25	-5	0
Iron ore fines	15	10	30	135	0	75	250

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 (+$20m), December (+$55m) 2021, January (+$205m), February (+$415m) and March (+$2,265m) 2022. 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 7.0% between January 2022 and February 2022 and fell 13.7% between February 2022 and March 2022.

In the balance of payments series, the unit value of coal, coke and briquettes rose 9.9% between January 2022 and February 2022 and rose 6.6% between February 2022 and March 2022.

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

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
Download xlsx [299.86 KB]
Table 11a. Services credits, original, current prices - quarterly
Download xlsx [422.61 KB]
Table 11b. Services debits, original, current prices - quarterly
Download xlsx [416.22 KB]
Table 12a. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), FOB value
Download xlsx [234.47 KB]
Table 12b. Merchandise exports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), FOB value
Download xlsx [607.18 KB]
Table 13a. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (1 and 2 digit), customs value
Download xlsx [235.5 KB]
Table 13b. Merchandise imports, standard international trade classification (3 digit), customs value
Download xlsx [632.99 KB]
Table 14a. Merchandise exports, country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [538.59 KB]
Table 14b. Merchandise imports, country and country groups, customs value
Download xlsx [528.29 KB]
Table 15a. Merchandise exports, state and Australia, FOB value
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Table 15b. Merchandise imports, state and Australia, customs value
Download xlsx [76.92 KB]
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
Download xlsx [82.53 KB]
Table 31. Merchandise exports, broad economic category, FOB value
Download xlsx [99.81 KB]
Table 32a. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), FOB value
Download xlsx [82.16 KB]
Table 32b. Merchandise exports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), FOB value
Download xlsx [79.52 KB]
Table 33. Merchandise imports, broad economic category, customs value
Download xlsx [100.37 KB]
Table 34. Merchandise imports, balance of payments broad economic category, customs value
Download xlsx [285.26 KB]
Table 35a. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 2006), customs value
Download xlsx [81.93 KB]
Table 35b. Merchandise imports, industry (ANZSIC 1993), customs value
Download xlsx [78.67 KB]
Table 36a. Merchandise exports, state of origin New South Wales, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [486.44 KB]
Table 36b. Merchandise exports, state of origin Victoria, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [490.26 KB]
Table 36c. Merchandise exports, state of origin Queensland, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [477.98 KB]
Table 36d. Merchandise exports, state of origin South Australia, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [458.47 KB]
Table 36e. Merchandise exports, state of origin Western Australia, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [481.36 KB]
Table 36f. Merchandise exports, state of origin Tasmania, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [421.93 KB]
Table 36g. Merchandise exports, state of origin Northern Territory, by country and country groups, FOB value
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Table 36h. Merchandise exports, state of origin Australian Capital Territory, by country and country groups, FOB value
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Table 36i. Merchandise exports, state of origin not available, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [359.13 KB]
Table 36j. Merchandise exports, re-exports, by country and country groups, FOB value
Download xlsx [450.22 KB]
Table 37a. Merchandise imports, state of destination New South Wales, by country and country groups, customs value
Download xlsx [499.95 KB]
Table 37b. Merchandise imports, state of destination Victoria, by country and country groups, customs value
Download xlsx [494.1 KB]
Table 37c. Merchandise imports, state of destination Queensland, by country and country groups, customs value
Download xlsx [472.13 KB]
Table 37d. Merchandise imports, state of destination South Australia, by country and country groups, customs value
Download xlsx [448.42 KB]
Table 37e. Merchandise imports, state of destination Western Australia, by country and country groups, customs value
Download xlsx [465.06 KB]
Table 37f. Merchandise imports, state of destination Tasmania, by country and country groups, customs value
Download xlsx [406.46 KB]
Table 37g. Merchandise imports, state of destination Northern Territory, by country and country groups, customs value
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Table 37h. Merchandise imports, state of destination Australian Capital Territory, by country and country groups, customs value
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Table 37i. Merchandise imports, state of destination not available, by country and country groups, customs value
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Table 91. Monthly combined seasonal adjustment factors
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Data Cubes

Data files

Table 18. Balance of payments broad economic categories (detailed level), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)
Download xlsx [1.03 MB]
Table 19. Balance of payments broad economic categories (1 and 2 digit), by country, latest 7 months, customs value, ($million)
Download xlsx [1.2 MB]

Methodology

International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia methodology, March 2022

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APA

International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Main features

COVID-19

Suspension of trend estimates

Seasonal adjustment and COVID-19

Quality of international trade in services statistics

Changes to timing of release of International Trade, Supplementary Information, financial year (2020-21) and calendar year (2021)

Changes in this issue

Upcoming changes to the International Merchandise Trade: Confidential Commodities List

Review of seasonal adjustment

Balance on goods and services

Goods and services credits (exports), seasonally adjusted

Goods credits

Rural goods

Non-rural goods

Services credits

Goods and services debits (imports), seasonally adjusted

Goods debits

Consumption goods

Capital goods

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

Services debits

Previous catalogue number

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

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 11a. Services credits, original, current prices - quarterly

Table 11b. Services debits, original, current prices - quarterly

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, country and country groups, FOB value

Table 14b. Merchandise imports, country and country groups, 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 and country groups, FOB value

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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