Could down-under turn upside-down?
By Jan Ward - CEO, Corrotherm Since we opened our Perth office in June this year, I have become very aware of a potential lack of sustainability in the Australian economy.
The country exports raw material and then re-imports as finished goods, - there is little or no value-added manufacturing established in the country, and by not adding any value themselves, they are prey to the widely varying world commodity prices and are not benefiting from the value added product prices.
For example, Australia has one of the biggest sources of bauxite in the world, but the added value comes from making aluminium extrusions. Considering that the Far East and Middle East prosper as a result of adding value to their raw materials, Australia’s stance in not going this route, is surprising.
Australia has a very large agricultural sector, but prices are hugely inflated - especially in Perth. With over 20 times more arable land per head than China, Australia stands to benefit from the growing demand for food in China, India and Indonesia, where the populations look set to rise from 500 million to 3 billion in the next few decades.
If they don’t step up the value-add on raw food materials, Australia could miss a very valuable boat here.
