Industries with the Biggest Decline in Imports in Australia in 2025

1. Carbon Dioxide Production in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -38.1%

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a versatile gas used in a range of processes and applications that benefit from its reactivity, inertness and low temperature. CO2 can be produced as a high-pressure cylinder gas, a low-pressure refrigerated liquid or in a solid form as dry ice. Several of CO2's major uses are in food and beverage industries, wherein manufacturers can use the gas to carbonate soft drinks, decaffeinate coffee, freeze food products and maintain ideal atmospheric conditions in food packaging and during food transport. This means that developments in Australia's food and beverage sector can often influence the industry's performance.

CO2 manufacturing... Learn More

2. Sheep Farming in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -33.3%

Variations in turn-off rates and wool production volumes have seen sheep farming revenue fluctuate but fall overall. Farmers have continued to focus on export markets to expand revenue in recent years. However, prolonged pandemic lockdowns in China have weakened demand for wool, leading to an oversupply and lower prices. Sheep farming revenue is expected to drop at an average annual rate of 4.1% over the five years through 2022-23, to total $3.1 billion. Revenue is anticipated to plunge by 9.8% in the current year, driven by a sharp drop in the prices of sheep, lambs and wool.

Australia's total sheep flock... Learn More

3. Iron Ore Mining in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -13.8%

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

4. Bauxite Mining in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -13.8%

Australia is the world's largest bauxite producer, accounting for approximately 30% of global output, and ahead of China, Guinea and Brazil. Bauxite production in Australia is projected to reach 103.9 million tonnes in 2021-22, up from 84.9 million tonnes in 2016-17. Expansion projects at several bauxite mines have contributed to this strong growth in production over the past five years, increasing mine output to meet higher demand. While most bauxite mined in Australia is locally processed into alumina, exports are estimated to account for 42.7% of the industry's revenue in the current year. In contrast, competing bauxite imports are negligible.

A... Learn More

5. Coal Mining in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -13.3%

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

6. Mineral Sand Mining in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -11.6%

Australia is a major mineral sands mining country due to its large natural reserves and extensive mining sites. Most of the Mineral Sand Mining industry's products proceed to downstream smelting and refining companies for processing prior to being exported or used by domestic manufacturers. Titanium dioxide products are mainly sold to pigment manufacturers, while zircon is primarily sold to producers of refractory bricks for use in metal smelting operations. Consequently, industry demand largely derives from these downstream manufacturing markets. Industry production volumes have increased over the past five years, as industry firms have increased output to benefit from higher prices.

Industry... Learn More

7. RTD Mixed Spirit Production in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -9.6%

Revenue for the RTD Mixed Spirit Production industry is expected to decline at an annualised 1.2% over the five years through 2023-24, to $1.2 billion. Consumption of RTD beverages has risen over the past five years, with new product development driving growth at the expense of other alcohol products, such as cider. However, and rising domestic demand has been increasingly met by imported products, which has hindered industry revenue growth, increased competition and reducing industry margins.

Marketing campaigns and a range of new products have boosted industry revenue over the past five years. These new products entered the market either with... Learn More

8. Non-Ferrous Metal Casting in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -8.2%

Revenue for the Non-Ferrous Metal Casting industry has increased over the past five years, driven by reduced import competition and rising input costs, which have been passed on to downstream markets. The industry has benefited from global supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have caused major shipping delays. Manufacturers have increasingly favoured local suppliers to boost their supply chains' reliability. Industry revenue is expected to grow at an annualised 4.6% over the five years through 2023-24, to $194.3 million. Rising world metal prices have increased input costs for the industry, reducing profit margins to an estimated 6.0% in... Learn More

9. Forestry and Logging in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -6.5%

The Forestry and Logging industry has endured challenging operating conditions in recent years, in response to weak downstream demand. Harvesting volumes have tumbled and downstream demand across key markets has fallen, contributing to a drop in industry profit margins. In particular, lower demand from log sawmilling and drops in residential building construction have contributed to several years of dwindling revenue. But a climbing domestic price of timber has benefitted forestry and logging firms, offsetting further drops in revenue in recent years. Industry exports have plummeted in recent years. This trend is mainly attributed to supply chain disruptions associated with the... Learn More

10. Iron Smelting and Steel Manufacturing in Australia

Decline in Imports for 2025: -6.1%

Challenging operating conditions over the past few years have influenced the Iron Smelting and Steel Manufacturing industry's performance. After the COVID-19 outbreak, supply chain disruptions and logistical issues made it more difficult to obtain key inputs for the industry's manufacturing processes. These factors elevated global prices for inputs like coking coal, iron ore and fuel, hiking up purchase costs for manufacturers and cutting into their profit margins. Pandemic-related disruptions also dampened demand from the construction sector; movement and social distancing restrictions caused projects to be cancelled or delayed, reducing demand for steel inputs. Despite these trends, a depreciating Australian dollar... Learn More