Food imports in Australia
Australia: Food imports was 6.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Food imports in Australia, 1963–2025
Source: Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division. Measured in % of merchandise imports.
Analysis
Australia recorded 6.5% for food imports in 2025.
The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and down 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, food imports in Australia peaked at 7.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.6%, in 2000.
Australia ranks 183rd of 196 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Food imports in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 6.4% | — |
| 1964 | 5.9% | -7.7% |
| 1965 | 5.7% | -3.6% |
| 1966 | 5.7% | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 5.7% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 5.6% | -2.6% |
| 1969 | 5.7% | +2.3% |
| 1970 | 5.6% | -1.6% |
| 1971 | 5.6% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 6.1% | +9.7% |
| 1973 | 5.7% | -6.9% |
| 1974 | 5.7% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 5.0% | -11.8% |
| 1976 | 5.3% | +5.7% |
| 1977 | 6.6% | +23.4% |
| 1978 | 5.9% | -10.7% |
| 1979 | 5.5% | -7.0% |
| 1980 | 5.2% | -4.6% |
| 1981 | 4.6% | -12.4% |
| 1982 | 4.6% | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 5.7% | +24.9% |
| 1984 | 5.6% | -2.7% |
| 1985 | 5.3% | -5.3% |
| 1986 | 5.3% | +1.5% |
| 1987 | 5.5% | +2.4% |
| 1988 | 5.2% | -4.5% |
| 1989 | 4.8% | -8.0% |
| 1990 | 5.0% | +4.8% |
| 1991 | 5.2% | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 5.0% | -3.4% |
| 1993 | 5.0% | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 5.0% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 5.0% | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 4.9% | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 4.9% | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 4.7% | -3.5% |
| 1999 | 4.8% | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 4.6% | -5.2% |
| 2001 | 4.9% | +8.5% |
| 2002 | 4.9% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 5.1% | +5.4% |
| 2004 | 4.8% | -6.4% |
| 2005 | 4.7% | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 4.8% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 5.0% | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 4.8% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 5.6% | +16.3% |
| 2010 | 5.3% | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 5.1% | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 5.1% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 5.7% | +12.6% |
| 2014 | 6.2% | +8.9% |
| 2015 | 6.6% | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 7.1% | +8.2% |
| 2017 | 6.5% | -8.7% |
| 2018 | 6.5% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 7.2% | +9.8% |
| 2020 | 7.6% | +6.0% |
| 2021 | 6.4% | -15.2% |
| 2022 | 6.1% | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 6.1% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 6.4% | +5.3% |
| 2025 | 6.5% | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.8% | 5.6% | 6.4% | 7 |
| 1970s | 5.7% | 5.0% | 6.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.2% | 4.6% | 5.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.0% | 4.7% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.9% | 4.6% | 5.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.1% | 5.1% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.5% | 6.1% | 7.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More private sector data for Australia
- Merchandise trade 36.0% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 74.3% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 310.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 13.7% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 9.8% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 337.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 12,225 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1877 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -0.9521 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 11,249 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is food imports in Australia?
- Food imports in Australia was 6.5% in 2025, according to Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division.
- What is the highest food imports recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest food imports recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.6% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for food imports?
- Australia ranks 183rd out of 196 countries with data for 2025.
- Is food imports rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Comtrade database, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Statistics Division, published as part of Food imports (% of merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Food comprises the commodities in SITC (Rev. 3) sections 0 (food and live animals), 1 (beverages and tobacco), and 4 (animal and vegetable oils and fats) and division 22 (oil seeds, oil nuts, and oil kernels). This indicator is expressed as a percentage of merchandise imports which is comprised of goods whose economic ownership is changed between a non-resident and a resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e.