Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, said today that Australia has retained its enviable international trade performance in the face of a sharply slowing world economy.

Mr Vaile was responding to the release of balance of trade figures for August 2001, which showed Australia had recorded its seventh consecutive monthly trade surplus.

The seasonally adjusted trade balance for August saw a $33 million surplus recorded, the longest stretch of trade surpluses since 1973. This monthly figure keeps the trade surplus stable in trend terms at $554 million for the month, following the outstanding July trade surplus of  $1.1 billion.

"It is clear that the deteriorating global economy has had some impact on our international trading position," Mr Vaile said. 

"However, the fact that Australia continues to export more than it imports is a clear sign of the strength and international competitiveness of the Australian economy.

"The strong performance by our exporters was boosted by a super competitive exchange rate, the removal of $3.5 billion of taxes from our export sector, and the reform of our waterfront, achieving record levels of crane movements - all these factors support the hard work of Australian exporters.

"A particular highlight of our trade performance in August was the rural sector.  Farm exports grew six per cent, with particularly strong contributions from wheat, rice, wool and sheepskins.  In the 12 months to August, exports of rural goods have grown 20 per cent overall."