China's share of Australia's merchandise trade hit a record high in 2020

Data: International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia

You can access data here: Link

According to the ABS: “Merchandise trade statistics on an international merchandise trade basis are compiled from information submitted by exporters and importers or their agents to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). Adjustments for coverage, timing and valuation are made to international merchandise trade data to convert them to a balance of payments basis. The services data are sourced from the quarterly Survey of International Trade in Services and a range of administrative data and indicator series.”

The Trend

Before I start, just a reminder that you can use our app called Australia - International Trade in Goods and Services here to explore the trends of imports and exports across a long period of time and many categories.

This post only has one figure where I have shown what percentage of Australia’s imports and exports in 2020 was from and to China. As the plot shows, Australia’s merchandise trade with China hit a record high in 2020 across both categories. This was driven by an increase in the value of imports from China but also a decline in the value of trade between Australia and the rest of the world.