The line graph illustrates the percentages of Australian exports to four different countries – Japan, the US, China, and India – over a 22-year period between 1990 and 2012.
Overall, the period saw a dramatic shift in Australia’s primary export destinations. While the export shares to Japan and the US experienced clear downward trends, China emerged as the dominant destination by the end of the period, with modest growth and a peak in the late 2000s.
In 1990, Japan was leading in Australian exports with around 26 percent, but by 2012 it had decreased to about 17 percent and became the second destination for Australian exports. The percentage of Australian exports to the United States also fell. In 1990 it was just over 10 percent, but at the end of the analysed period in 2012 it was only around 7 percent.
At the same time, Australian exports to China in 1990 were about 3 percent, and then they rose to approximately 28 percent in 2012, making China the leader at the end of the analysed period. Exports to India remained stable at around 2 percent for 10 years from 1990 to 2000. Later they increased significantly, peaked in 2010 at just under 10 percent, and then fell to about 6 percent in 2012.