Fastest Growing Industries by Imports in Australia in 2025

1. Grain Growing in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 31.7%

Grain growing in Australia is export-oriented and produces wheat, barley, canola, other grains and oilseeds. Revenue has fluctuated over the past five years, due to volatile weather conditions, global grain prices and crop supplies. Revenue is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 17.3% over the five years through 2022-23, to reach an estimated $27.7 billion. As Russia is a major producer of fertiliser, a key industry input, its price has significantly risen in 2021-22 due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Industry profitability has therefore fallen over the period as purchase costs have increased. However, higher output volumes due... Learn More

2. Nickel Ore Mining in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 31.5%

Nickel ore miners faced generally positive operating conditions over the past five years, with strong pricing growth and demand being partly offset by output declines. Most nickel ore mined in Australia is processed locally into nickel concentrate by downstream smelting and refining firms, or by nickel ore mining companies that also operate their own smelters and refineries. All nickel ore mined by the industry is from Western Australia. Infrastructure projects and the production of nickel-based stainless steel goods in China drove global demand for nickel over the past five years. These factors positively affected Australian nickel exports, with domestic demand... Learn More

3. Copper Ore Mining in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 29.2%

Copper mining revenue is expected to increase at an annualised 3.8% over the five years through 2023-24, to an estimated $9.8 billion. This strong growth is due to higher copper prices, and stronger demand growth from China for copper used in construction, communications and manufacturing. Copper prices have risen as global copper demand has increased, and production has weakened. Highly advanced economies, such as Japan, have also supported demand growth through higher domestic production volumes. Australia is one of the world's major copper mining countries, behind Chile, Peru, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States.

Australia's copper ore production... Learn More

4. Coal Mining in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 26.3%

Coal is a key input in steelmaking and energy generation. Although coal deposits are found all over the world, Australia is one of the world's lowest cost producers and a major coal exporter. Domestic reserves exceed domestic demand, are high grade and economical to access. As a result, exports account for a large share of coal mining revenue. Imports are negligible, as local production is higher than domestic demand for coal. Black coal mining accounts for most activity, with some brown coal used domestically for electricity generation in Victoria.

Coal mining revenue is expected to grow at an annualised 14.6% over... Learn More

5. Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 18.8%

The Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing industry has undergone structural and operational changes over the past few years. Several companies have ceased or cut down local production because of changing market conditions, and the industry is in the decline phase of its economic life cycle. A range of other chemical sectors use basic organic chemical products as raw material inputs to manufacture petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, personal-care products, food and beverages, coatings, plastics and explosives.

Volatile chemical prices, rationalisation in the global chemical market and greater competition from imports have been influencing the industry. Gas and oil prices have been fluctuating and feedstock prices... Learn More

6. Synthetic Resin and Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 13.5%

Synthetic resin and synthetic rubber manufacturers have faced challenging operating conditions, with sales figures diminishing over the past few years. Declines across key downstream manufacturing industries and high import penetration have hindered the industry's growth. The COVID-19 pandemic further reduced revenue and demand for synthetic resin and synthetic rubber goods from 2019-20 to 2020-21. Many products are used as raw material and intermediate inputs in a variety of downstream markets, including in the construction and manufacturing divisions. Product volumes often reflect domestic demand derived from these key markets. Prices for key inputs like plastic and rubber products, crude oil and... Learn More

7. Prefabricated Metal Building Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 12.6%

The Prefabricated Metal Building Manufacturing industry is crucial in supplying portable buildings to various sectors, including mining and construction companies, government agencies, tourism operators and households. The industry offers diverse products, like housing, site offices, accommodation units, ticketing units and staff amenities like bathrooms and mess halls. The industry is highly fragmented and comprises many small-scale businesses.

Over the five years through 2023-24, the industry's revenue has experienced an annualised 8.4% contraction, reaching $2.8 billion. This has been primarily driven by decrease in major markets coming from construction contractors, recreation and tourism operators and government agencies where prefabricated metal buildings are... Learn More

8. Wicker and Fibreglass Furniture Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 11.9%

Wicker and fibreglass furniture manufacturers have faced challenging conditions over the past few years. Revenue is expected to decline at an annualised 4.4% over the five years through 2022-23, to $308.7 million. Over that period, manufacturers have contended with substantial price competition from less costly imports. Strong competition from wooden, plastic and steel furniture has also slowed revenue growth. Rising interest rates and muted building construction during the COVID-19 pandemic have further weakened demand for industry products, as consumers usually purchase furniture for newly built homes. As a result, industry revenue is anticipated to decline by 3.4% in the current... Learn More

9. Pallets and Other Wood Product Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 11.3%

Pallets and packing cases have dictated the industry's performance, with demand for these products influenced by manufacturing, wholesale and retail activity. The industry is sensitive to fluctuations in business inventories and demand for warehousing and storage services. Wooden pallets are rented through a national pooling system in Australia. Through this system, pallets pass through the entire supply chain before the pallet supplier collects and reuses them. Pallet manufacturing activity fluctuates yearly depending on the volume of pallets in the national pool. Industry revenue has swayed over the past few years, with input prices and shifting demand contributing to an evolving... Learn More

10. Cut and Sewn Textile Product Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Imports for 2025: 10.8%

Imports have increased steadily as a share of domestic demand, taking market share from local manufacturers and forcing many companies to exit the industry. Growing real household discretionary income has softened declining industry performance, as improved demand conditions have allowed many firms to increase prices without affecting demand. Consequently, industry revenue is expected to decline at an annualised 0.4% over the five years through 2023-24 to $2.33 billion. This trend includes an anticipated 3.3% drop in the current year as inflationary pressures following the COVID-19 pandemic's economic impacts tighten consumer home renovation budgets.

The effects of rising import competition have varied... Learn More