Miller Magazine Issue: 143 November 2021

87 Country Profile MILLER / november 2021 The majority of the Australian population is in the Eastern states, in the major cities (Melbourne & Sydney). In Western Australia, a much smaller popu- lation is present, only 2.6m out of the 25m. Due to the differences in population, different trade flows emerge. The Eastern states have a sig- nificant domestic focus, whereas Western Australia is far more focused on exports. Western Australia has increasingly grown in im- portance over the years. During the recent drought in 2018, Western Australia produced more than half of the nation's wheat – only the first time that more than half of production had been focused in the West. Chart 2 shows the growth of Western Austra- lia as a percentage of the overall Australian produc- tion of wheat. For those importing wheat, potentially from Aus- tralia, the Western part of the nation is the area of the most focus. Even in years of drought in Western Australia, the majority will be exported due to the lack of a sizable local population. Chart 5 Chart 6