Record quarterly trade surplus

Australia’s export sector continues to go from strength-to-strength with new data out today showing Australia registered a record quarterly trade surplus in the September quarter.

New data released today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that Australia posted a record $21.1 billion trade surplus in the September 2019 period.

Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said this result demonstrated that Australian exporters were reaping the benefits from increased access to markets delivered by the Morrison Government.

“Greater export opportunities for Australian farmers and businesses continues to be a major factor in our strong export performance,” Minister Birmingham said.

"By locking in zero or low-tariff access in new markets, our exporters are more internationally competitive and that means more opportunities to sell their high-quality goods and services overseas.

“Our Government continues to provide more export opportunities through improved global market access. 

“Our free trade agreements, including with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru that passed the Parliament last week will further open up markets for Australian farmers, businesses and manufactures.

“With one in five jobs in Australia trade related, and our Government committed to boosting the number of Australians employed in trade related jobs by an extra 240 000, we’ll continue to deliver more access for our export sector to help further strengthen our economy.”

Imports rose to their second highest level on record, with consumption goods imports also at their second highest level in the September quarter, highlighting the resilience of the Australian economy.

The record quarterly trade surplus was underpinned by a 2 per cent increase in both goods and services exports. Australia also recorded its second consecutive quarterly current account surplus of $7.9 billion in the September quarter.