The Philippines is Western Australia’s thirteenth largest merchandise export market. Western Australia exported A$1.6 billion of goods to the Philippines in 2019, with the top exports being wheat, precious metal ore (excluding gold and silver) and copper ore. The Philippines is Western Australia’s largest export market for wheat and second largest export market for precious metal ore and copper ore.
The Philippines is Western Australia’s thirty-fifth largest source of merchandise imports. Western Australia imported A$79 million of goods from the Philippines in 2019, with the top imports being gold (further refined and re-exported), electrical machinery and apparatus, and electricity distribution equipment.
The Philippines is the twenty-second largest destination for Australia’s direct investment abroad (A$916 million in 2019).
In 2019, Western Australia had 16,600 visitors and 1,196 students from the Philippines. For Western Australian tourists, the Philippines is the twelfth most popular overseas destination, with 20,000 Western Australians visiting the Philippines in 2018.
Western Australia has a growing Filipino community. In 2016, 35,000 Western Australian residents had Filipino ancestry and 31,000 were born in the Philippines.
The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation supports Western Australia’s investment and trade with the Philippines through its Singapore Office, which was established in 2012.