South Australia is exporting more than ever, with the trend for total exports in merchandise goods and services reaching a new high in chain volume terms of $15.117 billion in the 12 months to March 2017, today’s ABS figures show.
The state’s merchandise exports also improved over the 12 months to March 2017, rising $170 million.
The improvement over the March 2017 is being driven by increases in: wine up $147 million (or 11.0 per cent to $1.488 billion; seafood 6.2 per cent (or $14 million to $246 million) ; machinery up 13.8 per cent (or $41 million to $337 million); vegetables and fruit up 35.5 per cent (or $200 million to $761 million); metal manufactures up 33.0 per cent (or $11 million to $44 million) and lead is 20.2 per cent (or $95 million to $563 million).
When comparing the 12 months to April 2017 with the 12 months to March 2017, exports to the Middle East, Europe, India, New Zealand, South East Asia – particularly Malaysia – , Japan, and China saw growth.
The latest services exports figures for South Australia – 2016 calendar year show an 11per cent increase, faster than the national rate of increase, to a value of $2.657 billion.
These results follow release earlier this week of March quarter chain volume measures showing the it to be the second highest quarter since the series began in 2011.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Investment and Trade Martin Hamilton-Smith
These results are due to the hard work of our exporters and State Government export programs that concentrate on higher-value added sectors which create more jobs, and on new, small exporters. These are the companies which find internationalisation hardest, and benefit most from the sort of assistance Governments can provide.
Our success in introducing more first-time exporters into international markets, and existing exporters into new markets, is evidenced by the more than attaining of the Economic Priority 9 target on exporter numbers – 60 from July 2016 to April 2017 – and the growth in the number of business mission participants – 647 delegates in 2016. This will feed through to an increased level of total exports as these small companies grow.