Tasmanian Exports: Trends, Industries, and Economic Impact

This report examines Tasmania's export profile, highlighting key industries and their contributions to the state's economy. The analysis covers major exports such as metals (zinc, copper, lead), wood and paper products, seafood (including wild fisheries and farmed salmon), and agricultural products like meat, dairy, and various fruits and vegetables. The report also discusses Tasmania's primary trading partners, with a focus on countries like China, Malaysia, and Japan, providing insights into export values and trends. Data from 2017 is used to illustrate the economic impact of exports, including their overall value and any fluctuations from previous years. The report references relevant academic sources to support the analysis and provides a comprehensive overview of Tasmania's export performance and its significance to the state's economy.

TASMANIA PRINCIPLE EXPORTS
Institution
Name

1
Tasmania is a diverse economy with 100s of significant exporters. Tasmania’s exports go
primarily to Asia. Japan is the most significant single customer of Tasmania. The metals are the
main exports for Tasmania and the most significant contributor to the economy. These are
primary exports to Australia and account for about 1.3 billion dollars each year. 1 Tasmania also
exports wood and paper and contributes close to 50% of all Australian woodchips, writing paper,
newsprint paper exports. Tasmania also exports minerals ores including Zinc, Copper, and Lead
from the west coast. Tasmania exports unprocessed ores which contribute around 400 million
Australian dollars to its economy each year.
Tasmania also export seafood including unprocessed wild fisheries, rock lobster and
abalone harvested in the main, and farmed Atlantic salmon which contributes around 150 million
Australian dollars to its economy each year. 2 Tasmania also exports meat and lamb that provide
approximately 120 million Australian dollars each year to its economy. Tasmania also exports
dairy including cream and cheese products which contribute more than 100 million Australian
dollars every year to its economy.
Tasmania also exports fruit, vegetables, beer, wine and chocolate which contribute 100
million Australian dollars to the economy per year. It is estimated about ABS that in the year to
2017 June, Tasmania’s overseas merchandise exports value stood at 2.76 billion dollars. This
denoted a decline of 3.2% from 2016 when export stood at 2.85 billion dollars. In 2017, the
1 Mick, Underdown and Geddes, David. "Green triangle: Blue gum exports now cranking
up." Australian Forest Grower 37, no. 4 (2015): 8.
2 Lindsay, Hogan and Morey, Kristopher. “Australia's Airfreight Food Exports: Trends, Issues
and Case Studies.” ABARES (2014).

2
central trading partners of Tasmania included China ($674 million or 24% of total exports of
Tasmania). Malaysia was the second largest, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the US.

3
Bibliography
Hogan, Lindsay, and Kristopher Morey. “Australia's Airfreight Food Exports: Trends, Issues and
Case Studies.” ABARES (2014).
Underdown, Mick, and David Geddes. "Green triangle: Blue gum exports now cranking
up." Australian Forest Grower 37, no. 4 (2015): 8.