Export optimists Australia's export outlook for 2004: the majority of Australia's exporters are bullish about trade growth in 2004, a new survey has found.

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The war in Iraq, the global economic slowdown, the devastating Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak and the rising A$ made 2003 a tough year for Australia's exporters.

But the results of a new survey have found it takes more than that to dent the hopes of our local traders. The inaugural DHL Export Barometer, developed in conjunction with Austrade, found 91 per cent of exporters surveyed expected to do just as well if not better in 2004.

Austrade's chief economist Tim Harcourt said the results underlined the fact that Australian exporters were an optimistic lot.

"It has been a tough year for Australian exporters. No question. The external environment has been tough. It's been the usual suspects and a few new culprits. On the demand side, we've had a weak world economy compounded by conflict in the Middle East. Logistics have been difficult with the Iraq conflict, more terrorist attacks in Indonesia, and to top it off, we've had this year's 'factor X'--SARS--hitting Asia and Canada," he said. "On the supply side, the drought has lingered and exporters from all sectors have had to adjust to a strengthening exchange as global currencies re-align. The multi-lateral trade talks faltered in Cancun although, on the regional or bilateral front, we had some recent breakthroughs with Singapore, Thailand and now China.

However, despite the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Australia's exporters are a pretty optimistic lot.

Growth expected

The DHL Export Barometer is a new initiative aimed at analysing export confidence in Australia. It surveyed 318 companies of all sizes over a three-month period across Australia from a range of industries including manufacturing, services and mining.

DHL Oceania area director Gary Edstein says the Barometer was part of a wider plan to encourage Australians to look at the importance of exporting.

"We have experienced considerable growth in Australia's export market over the last 12 months, and DHL are expecting this trend to continue throughout 2004," he said. "As the impact of a volatile external market continues to subside and the international economy strengthens, the market will quickly become conducive to high volumes of export trade."

The survey's key finding is that over the course of the next 12 months, 60 per cent of Australia's exporters are predicting an increase in their export orders, with 31 per cent expecting orders to stay the same. The 91 per cent of businesses expecting the same...