STRUCTURAL SHIFT IN AUSTRALIAN EXPORTS AS ASIA URBANISES: HSBC

SYDNEY - The increased urbanisation of Asia over the next 20 years will prompt a shift in the composition of Australia’s exports and trade partners, according to HSBC’s latest trade forecast report, Global Connections. It forecasts that, by 2030, Australia’s exports will shift from industrial commodities, like iron ore – currently used in the first stage of Asia’s industrialisation – to commodities needed to support Asia’s more sophisticated consumer needs like base metals and mineral fuels.