Further strong trade outcome for Australia

The value of Australian exports surged to a new record level in the March quarter, reinforcing the value of the Turnbull Government's continued commitment to open trade and investment.

The latest figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics demonstrate the fundamental strength of Australia's trade performance and follows the record level set in December 2016.

With exports rising more than imports, the trade surplus increased to a record of $9.2 billion in the March quarter. As a consequence, the current account deficit fell to $3.1 billion in March, the lowest ratio as a share of GDP in over 37 years.

Underpinning the March quarter result were strong rises in export values of both rural and non-rural goods, with large rises reported in cereals, meat, iron ore and coal.

The value of services exports also continue to increase steadily, reaching $18.6 billion in the March quarter. In particular, exports of education-related travel services have helped propel total travel exports to a record $11.5 billion.

Compared to a year earlier, there were large increases in merchandise export values to China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Germany.

The Turnbull Government's commitment to free trade underpins Australia's enviable economic prosperity. Trade agreements, including those with China, Korea and Japan, will continue to deliver substantial benefits for Australia for decades to come.