Japan was Australia's most important export market in 2001, with merchandise exports growing 9 percent to 23.7 billion Australian dollars (about 1.64 trillion yen at current exchange rates), the government reported Wednesday.
The 2002 Trade Outcomes and Objectives Statement said the largest Australian merchandise exports to Japan in 2001 were coal at A$5.7 billion, iron ore at A$2.2 billion, aluminum at A$1.7 billion and beef, also at A$1.7 billion.
Japan is also Australia's third-largest market, after the United States and Britain, for services, with A$3.5 billion in service exports in 2000, the report says.
The document deals with merchandise exports in 2001, service exports in 2000 and investment from 1999 to 2000.