Services now account for close to one quarter of Australia's total export income.
Mr Vaile was commenting on information in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's publication Trade in Services, Australia, 1998-99, released today. While the traditionally strong tourism and education based travel sector accounted for 45 per cent of services exports last year, Mr Vaile was pleased to note that the information technology and communications sectors also posted increases, with average annual growth of 12.5 per cent over the past five years. The largest single market for Australia's services exports is the USA, accounting for 17 per cent of the total, followed by Japan, at 13 per cent. Trade in Services, Australia, 1998-99 provides a comprehensive analysis of Australia's international trade in services, by partner country and by type of service. It also contains inter-country comparisons of international services trade.