Australia is a giant continent with an area of ​​about 7.7 million km2 (ranked 6th in the world), isolated, without land borders with any country/territory and surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, so Australia is also considered an "island continent". This geographical condition creates very favorable conditions for trade and exchange of goods by sea with Australia.

In Australia, there are currently more than 400 different languages ​​​​used (including about 180 indigenous languages), English is the most popular language with about 2/3 of the Australian population using English every day. With the development of the Vietnamese community (including immigrant workers and international students), Vietnamese is being used more and more in this country and has become the third most popular language in Australia. The development of many different languages ​​also creates favorable conditions for Australia to promote trade with countries around the world (including Vietnam).

Australia is a country rich in mineral resources such as coal, iron, copper, tin, gold, silver, bauxite, uranium, nickel, tungsten, placer sand, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, oil, etc. Therefore, Australia has strengths in exporting these mineral products.

For many years, Australia has been known as one of the countries with vibrant trade activities in the world. According to ITC Trademap data, Australia's total import and export turnover in 2023 reached 646.6 billion USD, of which exports reached 370.9 billion USD and imports reached 275.7 billion USD. With these results, Australia ranked 21st among the top exporting countries and 25th among the top importing countries in the world. In addition, Australia's trade balance has almost always maintained a surplus for many years. Notably, the trade surplus has been expanding, reaching 95.2 billion USD in 2023 while the trade surplus in 2016 was only 0.2 billion USD.

Table 1: Australia’s import-export turnover in the period 2014 – 2023

Unit: billion USD

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Imports

Over the past decade, Australia's import turnover has fluctuated over the years but has generally shown an upward trend. Specifically, Australia's import value increased from 228.9 billion USD in 2014 to 275.7 billion USD in 2023.

Regarding the structure of imported goods: Australia mainly imports machinery, electrical/mechanical equipment and vehicles under Chapters 84, 85 and 87 (accounting for more than 40% of total imports). Next, Australia imports a lot of products in the mining sector such as mineral fuels and mineral oils under Chapter 27 (accounting for about 15% of total imports). In addition, Australia also has a relatively large import demand for a number of consumer products, including products that Vietnam has strong export positions such as plastics, iron and steel, furniture, etc.

Table 2: Top 10 imported products of Australia in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Regarding import partners, China is Australia's largest import source, accounting for 25% of the country's total imports in 2023. Next, Australia imports a lot from the United States, with the import proportion from this country accounting for more than 11%. In addition, Australia also has a need to import many goods from Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. Vietnam is also one of Australia's major import sources, accounting for 2.3% of the country's total imports (2023).

Table 3: Top 10 import partners of Australia in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Exports

In the period 2014-2023, Australia's export turnover, although fluctuating over the years, generally tends to increase, from 252.7 billion USD in 2014 to 370.9 billion USD in 2023.

Regarding the structure of export products: As a country rich in natural resources, Australia's main export products are mining products such as mineral fuels, ores, and gemstones (in chapters 26, 27, 71), accounting for about 68% of Australia's total exports in 2023. In addition, Australia also exports many agricultural products (cereals, meat, salt, etc.), chemicals, aluminum, etc.

Table 4: Top 10 export products of Australia in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Regarding export partners: China is Australia's largest export market, accounting for more than 33% of the country's total export value in 2023. Next, Australia exports a lot to Japan, with the proportion of exports to this country accounting for nearly 10%. In addition, a number of Asian economies such as South Korea, India, Taiwan (China) and Vietnam have also been Australia's main export markets for many years.

Table 5: Australia's top 10 export partners in 2023

Source: ITC Trademap, 2024

Source: Center for WTO and International Trade

• Market size of Australia
• Consumer characteristics in Australia
• Characteristics of Australia’s distribution system
• Vietnam's exports to Australia