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Pattern of Trade

Patterns and Composition of Trade

 
Australia's Direction and Composition of Trade

Every year the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) releases a report labelled the 'Composition of Australia's Trade' that includes sectors of trade growth and decline.

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Key

  • Primary Industry 

  • Secondary Industry

  • Tertiary Industry

 

Australia's Top Exports (2015)

  1. Iron Ore and Concentrates

  2. Coal

  3. Education-related travel services

  4. Natural gas

  5. Personal travel

  6. Gold

  7. Beef

  8. Aluminium ores

  9. Crude petroleum

  10. Wheat

We can conclude that Australia's export sector is still based around primary industries of commodities and agricultural exports.

 

Exports Sector Growth

  • Australian financial services have experienced the highest growth in exports at 30.3% growth over 5 years and is ranked 16th highest value export

  • Australia's beef export growth has been the second highest over 5 years at 16.9% growth and is ranked Australia's 7th largest export

  • Natural Gas exports have experienced the third highest sector growth over 5 years at 13% - Natural Gas is Australia's 4th largest export.

 

Export Sector Declines

  • Crude Petroleum: -8.8% decline over 5 years, due to weakening oil prices

  • Coal: -3.9% decline over 5 years, due to weakening coal price

  • Aluminium: -3% decline over 5 years

 

Australia's Top Imports (2015)

  1. Personal travel

  2. Passenger Motor Vehicles (PMV)

  3. Refined petroleum

  4. Telecom equipment & parts

  5. Freight services

  6. Crude petroleum

  7. Computers

  8. Medicaments

  9. Goods vehicles (Transport vehicles)

  10. Passenger transport services.

We can conclude that Australia imports mainly secondary industries, in particular those of simply and elaborately transformed goods and services.

 

Import Sector Growth

  • Heating Equipment and Parts - growth of 19.8% over 5 years

  • Tubes & pipes of iron or steel - growth of 19.7% over 5 years

  • Professional Services - growth of 17.9% over 5 years

 

Import Sector Declines

  • Gold - decline of -10.5% over 5 years

  • Crude Petroleum - decline of -8% over 5 years

  • Civil Engineering and Parts - decline of -2.9% over 5 years

 

Changes in Australia's Trading Partners

 

Top Export Trading Partners

  1. China contributes to 28.8% of all exports - growth of 8.1% over 5 years

  2. Japan, contributes to 13.4% of all exports - decline of -1.5% over 5 years

  3. The United States contributes to 7% of all exports - growth of 8.4% over 5 years

  4. South Korea, contributes to 6.3% of all exports - decline of -2.7% over 5 years

  5. India contributes to 4.3% of all exports - decline of -9.3% over 5 years

 

Top Import Trading Partners

  1. China contributes to 18.2% of all imports - growth of 8.9% over 5 years

  2. The United States contributes to 13.6% of all imports - growth of 4.9% over 5 years

  3. Japan contributes to 6.4% of all imports - growth of 1.4% over 5 years

  4. South Korea contributes to 4.5% of all imports - growth of 16.3% over 5 years

  5. Thailand contributes to 4.4% of all imports - growth of 4.3% over 5 years

 

Top Two Way Trading Partners

  1. China

  2. United States

  3. Japan

  4. South Korea

  5. Singapore

 

References

 

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