Import From China Business
A practical guide for starting a small business
2010-
Import from China
Sell on eBay
Sandra Kell
Ontario, Canada
Baby Products
Profit This Year: $10,400
“I started with $1,000 and began importing baby products from China. I sell them on eBay, Facebook and in my local stores. After 8 months, I am earning $400 a week. I finally quit my day job!”
Learn How
Shipping to Australia
Control of Shipping to Australia
Shipping to Australia has facilitated billions of dollars of import and export goods
in and out of the country. Historically, the majority of the nation's ports are
publically owned but more recently, the trend has been to privatize or corporatize
Australia's ports.
Port privatization involves the transfer of the public ports to
the private sector either through contracting, leasing or selling. Corporatization
is the restructuring of the port authority even though a reduced amount of state
or government presence is maintained. The port authority is replaced by legislation
taking over the landlord responsibilities of the port in a government owned corporation.
Private businesses principles are adapted in the government owned corporation with
the commercial operations of the port often times being privatized.
Key Ports for Shipping to Australia
The majority of Australia's import and export cargo are moved through the major ports of Melbourne, Sydney, Fremantle, Geelong, Adelaide, Brisbane, Kembla, Newcastle, Hobart, and Whyalla.
Port of Melbourne
- Port of Melbourne, situated in the Victoria state is Australia's largest cargo and container port. The port has been in existence since the 1880's. Many of the activities at the Port of Melbourne are privatized. With multiple docks and piers, the Port of Melbourne handles a full range of port services.
Sydney Harbour (Port Jackson)
- Port Jackson or Sydney Harbour is in the New South Wales states. It is the second largest port in Australia. With a maze of inlets and headlands, Port Jackson spans 20 km or 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Paramatta River. The harbour's discovery has been accredited to Lt. James Cook in 1770. Due to its strategically central location, the Port of Victoria has better access to Australia's interior than the Port of Melbourne.
Port of Fremantle
- Port of Fremantle, a natural deep water port is in the Western Australia State. It is the most western port in Australia and is closest to one of Australia's important trade partners, Singapore. The first European to land in this region was Captain Charles Howe Fremantle in 1829. He was in charge of the HMS Challenger ship. An artificial harbour was created in 1890's to improve its ability to function as a port. The discovery of gold in the region during that time necessitated the development of a port in Western Australia.
Port of Geelong
- Situated in the Corio Bay within the state of Victoria, the Port of Geelong handles grain, petroleum products and general industrial goods. Even though the Port of Geelong is only 65 km or 40 miles southeast of the Port of Melbourne, it remains competitive to Melbourne due to its easier access to the western district.
Port Adelaide
- Port Adelaide was once a thriving center of the developing Australian colony. The port which resides in the South Australia state is lined with stone warehouses and workmen's cottages.
Port of Brisbane
- Port of Brisbane is in the southeastern corner of the state of Queensland. Due to its proximity to major Asia Pacific markets, this port has been popular over the years. There is a large network of railroads within Queensland. The Port of Brisbane is the 3rd largest port in Australia as measured by the value of goods. Primary exports include coal, grain, sugar and container freight.
Port Kembla
- Port Kembla is on the east coast of the state of New South Wales. This port was originally developed in 1883 to export the coal from the Mount Kembla mine.
Port of Newcastle
- Originally a place reserved for convicts, the Port of Newcastle is now home of the world's largest export of coal. It is on the east coast of the state of New South Wales.
Port Hobart
- Port Hobart is situated within the southern part of the island state of Tasmania. Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania is also the second oldest city in Australia. The city was founded as a harsh prison settlement. It later flourished as a shipbuilding, whaling and port facility.
Port of Whyalla
- Port of Whyalla is in the state of South Australia. The city of Whyalla is the second largest city in the state. The Port of Whyalla began as a shipping center for iron ore mined at the nearby Iron Knob. Later the port broadened to shipbuilding.
Shipping to Australia for the Importer
With such a large number of ports, the importer to Australia has many options to choose from for Shipping to Australia. The decision will be based on the country of origin, the destination of the markets in Australia and shipping and port costs. All three factors will help the importer to decide on which port will be the best for getting goods to Australia by shipping to Australia.