Japan, South Korea and, above all, China ranked as the top destinations for Australia’s exports in 2024, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
China remains Australia’s largest bilateral trade partner, with a 28% share. Of total Australian exports, 30.1% go to China. Of Australia’s total imports, 25.4% originate in China.
Destinations for Australia’s exports
In 2024, Australian merchandise exports grew at a year-on-year rate of 7% to $346 billion.
The trend in Australian exports of goods to the world, in billions of dollars, is shown below:
- 2028: 255.
- 2019: 273.
- 2020: 255.
- 2021: 346.
- 2022: 402.
- 2023: 371.
- 2024: 346.
China and Asia
Although Australia and China signed a Free Trade Agreement in 2015, the Chinese government imposed restrictions on certain Australian imports in 2020. This occurred after the Australian government approved an investigation into the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Then, in 2023, China began to lift those restrictions. As a result, Australian exports of goods and services to China grew by more than 18% compared to 2022. but in 2024, these shipments fell 15%, at an annual rate.
These are the top destinations for Australia’s exports, in billions of dollars, with their respective year-on-year growth:
- China:104 (-15 percent).
- Japan: 31 (-14 percent).
- South Korea: 20 (-2 percent).
- India: 16 (+11 percent).
- United States: 15 (14 percent).
- Taiwan: 15 (-15 percent).
- New Zealand: 8 (0 percent).
- Indonesia: 8 (+9 percent).
- Singapore: 8 (+12 percent).
- Hong Kong: 8 (+20 percent).
Commodities
According to the OECD, value-added trade indicators show that China was the final destination for 94 percent of Australia’s exports.
According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Australia remains a major exporter of raw materials and an importer of finished goods. Australia’s merchandise trade is also highly concentrated in specific markets: the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 86% of exports and 64.3% of imports in 2023.