Major trading partners - Financial year results
The Northern Territory (NT) is geographically located close to major Asian economies including Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea and Indonesia and, as expected, these are the NT’s major trading partners. The NT also relies on goods imports from the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU), which are also identified as key trading partners. In this section, analysis on the NT's major trading partners is provided by financial year, for both exports and imports.
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Japan | China | Taiwan | Korea | Indonesia | Singapore | Canada | Vietnam | Thailand | Malaysia | India | United States of America | Europe
2018-19 Activity
Please note that 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, 2018-191, 2
1 Current prices.
2 This map is produced from various sources. Department of Treasury and Finance cannot guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information. To be used as a guide only.
3 Excluding special administrative regions (Macau and Hong Kong) and Taiwan.
Source: Department of Treasury and Finance, ABS, International Trade in Goods and Services, Cat. No. 5368.0
Japan
In 2018-19, Japan was the NT’s largest export market, overtaking China, with exports increasing 129.2% to $4.2 billion. This reflects a substantial increase in confidential goods, likely liquefied natural gas. Goods imported from Japan decreased by 25.7% to $124 million, predominantly due to a decrease in imports of petroleum and petroleum related products.
China
In 2018-19, China was the NT’s second largest export market with exports increasing 19.7% to $2.6 billion. The NT’s main exports to China consisted of confidential items (71.1%) and metalliferous ores and metal scrap (27.2%). Goods imported from China decreased by 28.7% to $102 million in 2018-19, predominantly due to a decrease in imports of machinery and equipment.
Taiwan
There was a significant increase in goods exported to Taiwan in 2018‑19, up from $5 million to $557 million, driven by significant increases in confidential items. Goods imported from Taiwan to the NT increased by 40.0% to $35 million, predominantly made up of inorganic chemicals (86.4%).
Korea
In 2018-19, the NT’s exports to the Republic of Korea (Korea) increased by 89.8% to $503 million, predominately due to an increase in confidential items exported to Korea (likely liquefied natural gas). Imports from Korea decreased 77.2% compared to 2017-18, totaling $29 million, as a result of a substantial decreases in imported confidential items, petroleum and petroleum related products, and general industrial machinery and equipment.
Indonesia
The NT exported $377 million worth of goods to Indonesia in 2018-19, with live animal exports continuing to make up the majority of total exports from the NT to Indonesia (98.1%). While exports increased, the value of goods imported from Indonesia decreased significantly to $3 million in 2018-19 (down 83.3%).
Singapore
In 2018-19, the NT exported $9 million worth of goods to Singapore, mostly consisting of confidential items. Goods imported from Singapore had a significant increase in 2018-19, totaling $666 million (up 64.4%), with petroleum and petroleum related products remaining the predominant import from Singapore (97.2%).
Canada
In 2018-19, there was a significant increase in the exports of goods to Canada, from $39 million to $277 million, overtaking the USA as our largest North American trade partner. Imports from Canada declined in 2018-19 to $2 million.
Vietnam
In 2018-19, Vietnam received $199 million worth of exported goods from the NT (up 89.5% from 2017-18), with live animal exports (68.5%) and confidential items (29.3%) continuing to make up the majority of exports to Vietnam. Goods imported from Vietnam in 2018-19 increased from $4 million to $25 million, with transport equipment being the primary import (81.6%).
Thailand
The NT exported $169 million worth of goods to Thailand in 2018-19, a 40.1% decrease from the previous year. The main exports to Thailand consisted of petroleum and petroleum related products (66.2%) and metalliferous ores and confidential items (31.8%). Imported goods from Thailand declined 2.9% to $66 million in 2018-19.
Malaysia
In 2018-19, NT exports to Malaysia decreased to $136 million (down 7.5%), driven by reductions in live animal exports to Malaysia. Goods imported from Malaysia declined by 30.0% to $203 million, mainly due to a decrease in imports of petroleum and petroleum related products.
India
The NT exported $119 million worth of goods to India in 2018-19 (down 24.2% from 2017-18), with confidential items continuing to make up most exports to India (96.0%). NT imports from India increased by 66.7%% in 2018-19 to $10 million.
United States of America
The NT exported $14 million of goods to the United States of America (USA) in 2018-19, down from $160 million exported in the previous year, largely due to a decline in confidential items exported. Imports from the USA decreased in 2018-19 by 65.6% to $56 million, largely influenced by a significant decline in power generating machinery and equipment imported.
European Union
The EU consists of 28 member states, including 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, Sweden, and United Kingdom.
In 2018-19, the NT exported $188 million worth of goods to the EU, an 82.5% increase from 2017-18. Goods exported primarily consisted of metalliferous ores and metal scrap (59.9%), confidential items (23.0%) as well as hides, skins and furskins (10.1%). Imports from the EU decreased in 2018-19 to $147 million (down 51.0%).