Trade surplus for 2011/12 financial year
Australia has recorded a trade surplus for the 2011/12 financial year.
The seasonally adjusted surplus of $9 million for the month of June was a $322 million improvement on May’s revised monthly deficit, and a fall of imports explained most of June’s surplus down two percent from May.
Australia ended the financial year with a $5.8 billion surplus for the year, the third highest on record for a financial year. This strong rise was driven by Australia’s exports to Asia, with merchandise exports to China up nearly 20 percent, while exports to Japan rose by nine percent.
Minister for Trade and Competitiveness Craig Emerson said, “The strong trade surplus for this financial year reflects the growing importance of the Asian region for our exporters and reinforces the work the Government is doing on the Asian Century White Paper.”
While there was a marginal drop in exports in June, rural exports have been rising, growing 14 percent to $34.7 billion over the financial year.
“The robust performance of rural exports over the past two years demonstrates the resilience and innovation within the agricultural sector and its ability to overcome setbacks from recent natural disasters,” Emerson said.
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