Industries with Most Risky Business Environments in Australia in 2023

1. Hay and Other Crop Growing in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.6

Hay and other crop growing income has been highly volatile over the past five years. High levels of annual rainfall have both benefited and challenged farmers in recent years. Crop yields have benefited from ample amounts of rain, yet greater pasture quality has lessened the need for hay and other fodder crops. Bouts of severe flooding have also damaged farmland and crops across parts of Australia. Growing international demand for Australian dairy products has benefited the industry. However, geopolitical and trade tensions with China have softened Australian beef production and therefore demand from feedlots and livestock farms. Farmers focusing on... Learn More

2. Fertiliser Manufacturing in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.6

The Fertiliser Manufacturing industry ensures that Australia's agricultural production systems are economically efficient in the short term and sustainable in the long term. Fertiliser manufacturers supply phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and sulphur fertilisers, and mix of high-analysis blends and trace elements. Between six and seven million tonnes of fertiliser are sold each year. However, only half of this is manufactured locally with the remainder imported. This means that the industry is susceptible to global supply side shocks, with little control over fertiliser prices. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, the European natural gas crisis and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have played havoc with global... Learn More

3. Cotton Ginning in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.3

The Cotton Ginning industry is an important part of the agricultural support services and national cotton sectors, and is closely linked to the Cotton Growing industry. Various factors also indirectly affect cotton ginners, like climatic conditions, water supply regulation, cotton stockpiling, and global cotton consumption and production fluctuations. Typically, cotton is harvested and ginned towards the end of the financial year, with any surplus production carried into the following year. Higher cotton production correlates with higher revenue, often with a one-year delay due to the timing of harvest season. The variability of these factors has caused significant revenue volatility in... Learn More

4. Land Development and Subdivision in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.3

The industry has been exposed to wide annual fluctuations in the price and volume of land sales in response to the changing trends in building investment. The volume of greenfield land sales for residential projects more than doubled from a low in 2018-19 to the peak in 2020-21, which corresponded with the surge in single-unit dwelling commencements resulting from the injection of the Federal Government's HomeBuilder stimulus and historically low interest rates. The reversal of this stimulus and the recent hike in mortgage interest rates have contributed to an expected contraction in industry revenue at an annualised 2.3% over the... Learn More

5. Coal Mining in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.2

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

6. Pathology Services in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.2

Pathology services providers supply vital information to help doctors diagnose and manage various diseases. Continual technological developments are increasing the range of available tests, boosting the range of pathology referrals. Australia's ageing population and the increased prevalence of chronic illnesses are also driving strong underlying demand for health services and associated referrals for pathology services. Medicare funding is supporting this demand, with the number of Medicare-funded services steadily rising. This strong volume growth is also supporting profit margins, with the larger players benefitting from economies of scale.

The most significant variable to influence demand for pathology services over the past few... Learn More

7. Grain Storage in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.0

Operators in the Grain Storage industry have benefited from strong growth in grain production volumes over the past five years. Industry revenue is expected to rise at an annualised 5.7% over the five years through 2022-23, to $3.1 billion. The industry is characterised by extreme revenue volatility, which creates difficult conditions for operators. Shifting wheat prices, movements in the Australian dollar and fluctuating grain production due to changing rainfall have influenced industry demand and earnings. For example, a record national grain harvest during 2020-21 significantly increased demand for grain storage. However, dry and hot weather conditions hampered the industry early... Learn More

8. Agricultural Machinery Manufacturing in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.0

Agricultural machinery manufacturers have benefited from a spike in demand over the past few years. Drought negatively affected demand from agricultural firms over the two years through 2019-20. But high annual rainfall levels over the three years through 2022-23 have driven up farm production volumes and incomes. Strong demand from local and export markets has driven growth in the agricultural division, encouraging rising domestic investment in agricultural machinery. Moreover, relatively low interest rates and government tax incentives have boosted private capital expenditure on machinery. Industry-wide revenue is expected to expand at an average annualised 5.5% over the past five years... Learn More

9. Cotton Growing in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.0

Operators in the Cotton Growing industry have endured extreme revenue volatility and fluctuating profit margins over the past five years, with a range of external factors influencing industry performance. Sufficient rainfall and an increase in the price per bale paid to Australian farmers led to the industry growing strongly over in 2017-18. Rising global demand for cotton drove this price growth. However, significantly below-average rainfall reduced irrigation water availability over the two years through 2019-20, with some cotton growing regions reporting their lowest annual rainfall on record. Drought conditions, which were reported over most major cotton growing regions, caused industry... Learn More

10. Gold Ore Mining in Australia

Business Environment Risk for 2023: 7.0

Gold ore mining revenue has soared, as central bank purchases and investor demand for safe-haven assets have driven gold prices higher. A weaker Australian dollar also lifted returns for domestic producers, with gold priced in US dollars in global markets.

Gold mining is a well-established industry in Australia, and production volumes have grown over much of the past decade, contributing to an annualised 4.0% increase in gold ore mining revenue through the end of 2022-23, to $22.7 billion. Gold is considered a counter-cyclical commodity and safe-haven asset during national and global economic uncertainty, with rocky US-China trade negotiations, the COVID-19 pandemic... Learn More