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 Australia’s image, as a country of wide open spaces with outdoor lifestyle and a refreshing approach to life, is reflected in consumer products that are exported worldwide.
Of particular renown is our fashion industry, but other industries, such as cosmetics, gifts, gemstones and opals also perform successfully in international markets.
Gifts and homeware
The range of gifts and homewares is huge – from glassware and candles through to kitchenware and garden accessories. The main product groups Australia exports are kitchenware (9 per cent), souvenirs (9.9 per cent), and toys/games (8.6 per cent).
What differentiates Australian gifts and homeware from all the other products on the market are their original design and innovative features, such as wool insulation in cooler bags (see 'Success stories' below).
Indigenous craft is also highly sought after.
General information
Fourteen per cent of wholesalers export goods designed and manufactured in Australia with a total wholesale value of A$3,008,803.
Around 35.6 per cent of products exported go to New Zealand.
(Source: Gifts and Homewares Wholesalers Industry Report 2004)
Trade shows
Trade shows are a good place for overseas buyers to see a wide range of product as 83 per cent of wholesalers attend trade shows. The main trade shows are run by the Gifts and Homewares Australia in Melbourne and Sydney each year. Another major gift and homeware event is Reed Gift Fairs, held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Australian gemstones
Australia is probably most famous for opals, but also produces other gemstones, including sapphires, pearls and diamonds.
Opals
Currently, Australia produces around 95 per cent of the world's opal used in the jewellery industry. Other countries where opal is found in small amounts include Honduras, Mexico, former Czechoslovakia and Brazil. The major export markets for opal are the USA, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
Australia's opal fields lie in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia, along the site of the ancient 'Great Inland Sea', or 'Great Artesian Basin'.
White or Milky opal, is found in South Australia, Black opal is found in Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, and Boulder opal is found in Queensland.
Sapphires
Australia is a major producer of gem-quality sapphires and sapphires have been mined commercially in Australia since the late 19th century.
There are two major commercial sapphire-mining fields: the Anakie field in Queensland and the New England field in New South Wales.
The commercial blue stone is mainly exported in bulk under contract Thailand for processing (including heat treatment and cutting). The smaller size stone is cut into calibrated sizes for use in the mass jewellery market.
The best quality sapphires and fancy stones are supplied mainly to niche markets in Europe and the USA, as well as the domestic jewellery trade and tourist market.
Pearls
Australia is the world’s largest producer of white South Sea pearls, cultured pearls of more than 10 mm diameter grown in the gold or silver-lip pearl oyster Pinctada maxima.
The industry also produces half pearls up to 25mm diameter, termed 'keshi' pearls in the trade, suitable for jewellery and clothing.
Pearl production takes place in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Two of the largest companies in the industry are Paspaley and M.G.Kailis.
Diamonds
The Argyle diamond mine in Western Australia has a large proportion of the world's economic diamond resources - 5 per cent are of gem quality, 40 per cent near-gem quality and 55 per cent industrial quality.
Argyle sells all product direct to the world market. The best Argyle rough diamonds, including the renowned pink diamonds, are cut and polished at the Argyle Diamonds facility in Perth, Western Australia.
About 70 per cent of the world market for rough diamonds is controlled by the London-based Central Selling Organisation (CSO). The CSO was formed in 1934 in response to cyclical price slumps and the total closure of diamond mines in South Africa during the Great Depression. |