Biggest Exporting Industries in Australia in 2023

1. Iron Ore Mining in Australia

Exports for 2023: $157.2B

Iron ore miners have benefited from major increases in iron ore prices, and modest growth in production volumes over the past five years. Iron ore revenue is expected to increase at an annualised 8.1% over the five years through 2022-23, to total an estimated $124.1 billion. Strong demand from China and disruptions to iron ore producers in Brazil prior to, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, sent iron ore prices soaring. Iron ore prices are projected to fall in 2022-23, prompting iron ore revenue to drop an estimated 16.2% over the year.

Over the past decade, strong economic growth in China has... Learn More

2. Coal Mining in Australia

Exports for 2023: $132.7B

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

3. Oil and Gas Extraction in Australia

Exports for 2023: $85.1B

Oil and gas producers have experienced significant revenue volatility. Changes in oil and gas prices, exchange rate movements, annual production volumes, and domestic and export demand for oil and gas all influence performance. Output has expanded over the past decade, while world oil and natural gas prices have displayed significant volatility.

Australia's natural gas production, which makes up most of the industry has soared over the past decade as new gas fields have been developed to feed Australia's liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. Global trade in LNG has expanded with growing demand for LNG in Asian markets and weakness in the... Learn More

4. Liquefied Natural Gas Production in Australia

Exports for 2023: $55.7B

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) production has rapidly expanded, as project development has increased the scale and production capacity of the industry. Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports have increased from 20.0 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 80.9 million tonnes in 2022-23. LNG revenue is expected to rise at an annualised 20.7% over the five years through 2022-23, to $90.3 billion.

The wave of project development that occurred across the industry over the past decade has now concluded. Ten LNG facilities are now operational, including the Prelude and Ichthys projects, which shipped their first cargoes in 2018-19. Together, the industry's 10 LNG... Learn More

5. Gold and Other Non-Ferrous Metal Processing in Australia

Exports for 2023: $27.9B

The Gold and Other Non-Ferrous Metal Processing industry mainly processes semi-refined gold. Semi-refined gold and gold dore bars are supplied from gold ore mining firms to the industry to be further processed into refined gold. Refined gold volumes are expected to total 323.9 tonnes in 2021-22, down from 337.1 tonnes in 2016-17. This fall is due to weaker refining volumes, particularly in 2020-21, and despite an expected surge in the current year. Although the industry refines a substantial volume of gold, some firms do so for a fee. These firms do not own either the gold bullion feedstock or the... Learn More

6. Meat Processing in Australia

Exports for 2023: $16.0B

The Meat Processing industry has been enduring a period of decline. Volatile production volumes and labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have constrained meat processing operations at times. Demand from export markets has remained strong, despite exports heavily weakening in 2020-21, caused by a dip in demand from China. Australian meat exporters found new homes for their products, mainly in South Korea. But, just as export revenue resurged in 2021-22, import competition intensified, causing a revenue shortfall in that year.

Strong export demand and herd rebuilding activity have caused meat shortages, driving up domestic beef and sheep meat prices. Escalating... Learn More

7. Grain Growing in Australia

Exports for 2023: $14.6B

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

8. Alumina Production in Australia

Exports for 2023: $7.4B

Australia is the world's largest producer of bauxite and the world's largest exporter of alumina. Alumina is made by applying the Bayer process to bauxite. Alumina can then be further refined into aluminium. The Alumina Production industry is highly concentrated, and has only three major players: Alcoa, Rio Tinto and South32. Each firm is vertically integrated, with upstream bauxite mining and downstream aluminium smelting operations.

Revenue for the Alumina Production industry is expected to decline at an annualised 3.3% over the five years through 2022-23, to $8.2 billion. This includes an anticipated increase of 2.7% in 2022-23, due to strong export... Learn More

9. Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc Smelting and Refining in Australia

Exports for 2023: $6.8B

Revenue for the Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc Smelting and Refining industry is projected to increase at an annualised 3.4% over the five years through 2021-22, to $4.5 billion. This rise is mainly due to higher copper prices and high export demand, and despite lower refined copper output. However, industry revenue is anticipated to decrease by 3.0% in the current year as downstream demand weakens and copper production declines greatly. Industry exports are estimated to total $7.6 billion in the current year, substantially above industry revenue. Industry firms often processes metal for a fee without taking ownership of it. Exports... Learn More

10. Copper Ore Mining in Australia

Exports for 2023: $6.7B

Copper is one of the world's most versatile and useful metals. It conducts heat and electricity and is widely used in electronic devices and electrical wiring. For example, computers and other digital devices require heat sinks to prevent overheating and these systems are often made of copper. Australia is one of the world's major copper mining countries, behind Chile, Peru, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States.

Revenue from the Copper Ore Mining industry is expected to increase at an annualised 7.1% over the five years through 2021-22, to reach $8.6 billion. This strong growth is due to higher... Learn More