The Northern Territory (NT) is geographically located close to major Asian economies including China, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, and as could be expected, these are some of the NT's major trading partners. The NT also relies on goods imports from the United States of America and the European Union, which are also identified as key trading partners. In this section, analysis on the NT's major trading partners is provided by calendar year, for both exports and imports.
China | Japan | Taiwan | Malaysia | Singapore | Canada | United States of America | Indonesia | Republic of Korea | India | Vietnam | Papua New Guinea | Europe
2021 Activity
Please note, some of the main items of trade have been confidentialised by the ABS due to sensitivity of specific commodities and limited sources of goods and merchandise, which makes suppliers easily identifiable.
Map 1: The Territory’s major goods trading partners, 20201, 2

China
- China was the NT’s second largest export market, representing 22.9% of the Territory’s exports. Goods exported fell by 17.0% to $2.2 billion, driven by a decrease in the confidential items category (likely liquefied natural gas).
- Goods imported fell by 12.7% to $110 million, and the share of imports was 7.5%.
Japan
- Japan was the NT’s largest export market in 2021, after overtaking China in 2019, representing 41.2% of the Territory’s exports. Goods exported increased by 20.7% to $5.3 billion, driven by increases in other commodities and metalliferous ores and metal scrap categories.
- Goods imported increased by 27.4% to $149 million, and the share of imports was 10.2%
Taiwan
- Goods exported to Taiwan fell by 3.2% to $1.0 billion, driven by a decrease in the confidential items category (likely liquefied natural gas).
- Goods imported increased by 47.5% to $50 million, and the share of imports was 3.4%.
Malaysia
- Goods exported to Malaysia fell by 16.5% to $111 million, driven by a decrease the confidential items category (likely liquefied natural gas).
- Malaysia was the NT’s largest import market in 2021, representing 19.8% of the Territory’s imports. Goods imported increased by 45.7% to $290 million, driven by an increase in petroleum and petroleum related products.
Singapore
- Goods exported to Singapore increased by 477.0% to $1.7 billion, driven by an increase in the confidential items category (likely liquefied natural gas).
- Goods imported increased by 75.8% to $283 million, and the share of imports was 19.3%.
Canada
- Goods exported to Canada fell by 43.4% to $112 million, driven by a decrease in the confidential items category (likely liquefied natural gas).
- Goods imported increased by 140.0% to $12 million, and the share of imports was 0.8%.
United States of America
- Goods exported to the United States of America increased by 133.3% to $7 million, driven by an increase in the transport equipment (excl. road vehicles) category.
- Goods imported fell by 5.0% to $57 million, and the share of imports was 3.9%.
Indonesia
- Goods exported to Indonesia increased by 7.2% to $447 million, driven by increases in the confidential items (likely liquefied natural gas) and other commodities categories.
- Goods imported fell by 8.3% to $11 million, and the share of imports was 0.8%.
Republic of Korea
- Goods exported to the Republic of Korea increased by 23.6% to $755 million, driven by increases in the confidential items (likely liquefied natural gas) and other commodities categories.
- Goods imported increased by 750.0% to $204 million, and the share of imports was 13.9%.
India
- Goods exported to India fell by 13.7% to $157 million, driven by a decrease in the confidential items category (likely liquefied natural gas).
- Goods imported fell by 20.0% to $12 million, and the share of imports was 0.8%.
Vietnam
- Goods exported to Vietnam fell by 31.3% to $114 million, driven by a decrease in the live animals category.
- Goods imported remained unchanged at $8 million, and the share of imports was 0.5%.
Papua New Guinea
- Goods exported to Papua New Guinea increased by 103.7% to $389 million, driven by an increase in the confidential items (likely liquefied natural gas) and other commodities categories.
- Goods imported remained unchanged.
European Union
The European Union (EU) consists of 27 member states, Austria, Belgium (including Belgium Luxembourg), Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (including the French Antilles), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands (including the Netherlands Antilles), Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
- Goods exported to the EU fell by 30.6% to $177 million, driven by a decreases in other commodities and transport equipment (excl. road vehicles) categories.
- Goods imported increased by 20.8% to $93 million, and the share of imports was 6.4%.