Fastest Growing Industries by Exports in Australia in 2024

1. Prefabricated Wooden Building Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 700.0%

The Prefabricated Wooden Building Manufacturing industry faces fierce competition from prefabricated buildings manufactured using metal, PVC and fibre cement and substitution by traditional on-site building construction. Incremental improvements in technology and design help the industry capture an increased share of the total building market. Manufacturers have faced fluctuations in the downstream household, building and tourism markets. Still, industry revenue is expected to climb at an annualised 4.5% over the past five years to reach $529.0 million in 2023-24.

In recent years, growth in capital expenditure on non-residential building construction has underpinned sales of relocatable buildings like modular classrooms, pop-up kiosks and... Learn More

2. Lubricants and Other Petroleum Product Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 154.6%

Lubricants and other petroleum product manufacturers further refine heavy and light oil components into various petroleum-based products using oil and grease base stocks with key products such as lubricating oils and greases, bitumen and aromatic hydrocarbons. Some players also distil coal to produce coke and coal tar. Industry products are used to construct roads; run vehicles, machinery and equipment; and in general manufacturing. Therefore, various external factors influence the industry's performance, including developments in the upstream petroleum refining and coal mining sectors and in key downstream user industries such as mining, construction and various manufacturing industries. The industry has been... Learn More

3. Non-Ferrous Metal Casting in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 133.3%

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

4. Mango Growing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 63.1%

Operators in the Mango Growing industry have faced mixed conditions over recent years. Despite tough international trading conditions, domestic demand has remained largely reliable for growers. Rising health consciousness has strengthened demand in the domestic market, both in downstream sales directly to consumers, and to food and beverage manufacturers. Favourable growing conditions in 2019-20 significantly boosted mango output. Even so, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly affected the price of key inputs and labour availability. Unfavourable agricultural conditions in 2022-23 have also limited revenue. Overall, industry revenue is expected to climb at an annualised 3.3% over the... Learn More

5. Biscuit Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 42.1%

Australian biscuit manufacturers have faced a series of challenges in recent years. Higher imports, declining per capita biscuit consumption and dwindling profit margins have forced several biscuit manufacturers to shutter over the past decade. Several notable biscuit companies have gone into administration, while all the industry's major players have changed hands, including industry giant Arnotts Biscuits Limited. As is the case with several other food processing industries, biscuit companies have increasingly outsourced production to countries with low operating costs. This trend has supported industry imports, which will satisfy just under 30% of domestic demand in 2022-23.

A saturated domestic market and... Learn More

6. Yoghurt Production in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 41.2%

The Yoghurt Production industry has expanded over the past five years, supported by consumer perceptions of industry products as healthy food options. Manufacturers have boosted production volumes, particularly of premium and Greek yoghurts, to meet growing domestic demand. These types of yoghurt attract higher sales prices and help boost industry revenue. Sales were boosted during periods of consumer stockpiling in response to COVID-19 lockdowns in 2019-20 and 2020-21. However, weaker downstream sales to food-service businesses have constrained revenue growth. Rising overseas incomes and Australia's reputation for producing safe and high-quality dairy products have helped lift export volumes over the period.... Learn More

7. Industrial Gas Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 37.9%

The development of new products and technologies, growing environmental concerns and changing demand patterns among key markets have shaped industry performance. Activity in key markets, including Australia's resources, manufacturing and healthcare sectors, has also been instrumental in the industry's growth. These markets have been subject to cyclical variations.

That's why the Industrial Gas Manufacturing industry revenue is expected to contract at an annualised 6.6% over the five years through 2023-24, to $2.8 billion, disguising the industry's highly volatile performance. This includes a drop of 2.6% in 2023-24, constrained by weak demand from Australia's mining sector. Industry manufacturers suffered from soaring... Learn More

8. Sugar Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 34.8%

Operators in the Sugar Manufacturing industry have faced volatile commodity prices and fluctuating weather patterns over the five years through 2022-23. The way milled sugar is marketed and exported is also changing, causing a shift in supply chain processes and contributing to uncertainty among sugar manufacturers. Sugar manufacturing revenue is expected to inch up at an average annual rate of 0.1% over the five years through 2022-23, to an estimated $3.45 billion. This trend includes an expected increase of 11.7% in 2022-23. Both world sugar prices and the domestic price of sugar have fluctuated greatly, causing concerns for profitability. Major... Learn More

9. Ready-Mixed Concrete Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 33.3%

Trends in building and infrastructure construction determine the Ready-Mixed Concrete Manufacturing industry's performance. The product's perishability restricts supply capabilities to a narrow geographic market. Several large-scale, vertically integrated manufacturers together account for over two-thirds of industry sales and have branch representation in most markets. These include Boral Limited, Hanson Australia, Holcim Australia, Adbri Limited and the Barro Group.

Divergent trends in downstream building and infrastructure markets have influenced the industry in recent years. Industry revenue has declined at an anticipated annualised 1.1% over the past five years. Revenue is expected to total $6.7 billion in 2022-23, including an estimated contraction of... Learn More

10. Metal Furniture Manufacturing in Australia

Growth in Exports for 2024: 30.6%

Trading conditions for metal furniture manufacturers were favourable in 2018-19 due to high demand from the construction sector. However, restrictions to foreign real estate investment and economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to fluctuating downstream demand from the construction sector, causing revenue volatility. The growing popularity of electronic information storage over storing paper records in metal filing cabinets has also affected operators. Revenue is expected to decline at an annualised 1.2% over the five years through 2023-24 to an estimated $807.4 million.

Lingering unfavourable trading conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have further reduced revenue, including an anticipated... Learn More