The Peel Region has a diverse economy based on mining and mineral processing, agriculture (including the equine industry), timber production, fishing, manufacturing, construction and tourism.
For more information please download the Peel Economic Perspective 2006 (Adobe PDF, 1.9MB).

Mining:

The Peel Region continues to be an important mineral producing area. The main minerals are bauxite and mineral sands. There is also limited gold production. In 2006-07, the Shires of Boddington, Murray and Waroona provided the feedstock for Western Australia's total output of alumina, valued at $4.8 billion.

In 2006, Alcoa completed the efficiency upgrade of its alumina refinery in Pinjarra which increased production to 4.2mtpa.  Alcoa is also investigating the feasibility of a third production train expansion at its Wagerup refinery to increase capacity from 2.6 mtpa to 4.7mtpa.

As gold prices have increased in recent years, a decision to re-open the Boddington Gold Mine was made in early 2006. Once completed, the Boddington project will rank as one of Australia's biggest gold mines and is expected to have a life of 15 years producing around 600,000 ounces per annum. Copper will be mined at 20,000 tonnes per year over the life of the mine. During operation, the project is expected to contribute an estimated $550 million to the Peel Region's economy and $770 million to the Western Australian economy per year.

Manufacturing:

In 2006, the manufacturing industry accounted for 13.5% of total employment in the Peel Region, with 4,600 jobs.  Much of the manufacturing industry involves value-adding to the Region’s mineral wealth, with around 26% of manufacturing businesses being involved in the production of metal products.  Other products manufactured in the Region include: machinery and equipment; wood and paper products; food and beverages; and textiles and footwear.

Agriculture:

Agriculture is based around dairy and beef cattle, and orchard fruit production.  Wine, vegetables, wool, pigs, eggs, flowers, grains, and poultry are also produced in considerable quantities.  The value of agriculture production has increased gradually over the decade.  In 1994/95, the value of production was $84.3 million, which increased to $114.9 million in 2004-05. 

Timber Production:

Timber production from plantations and State forests was valued at $6.7 million during 2004-05. Production in the Region accounted for 14% of the State's total mass of hardwood production, and 4% of softwood production.

Fishing:

Fishing contributed $8.3 million to the Region's economy in 2006-07. While the rock lobster catch dominates the industry, it is strongly supported by whitebait, prawn, crab and mollusc catches.

Building:

To the end of June 2007, total approvals for the construction industry equalled $933.5 million - representing an increase of 83% over the previous financial year. This figure also represents 9% of all approvals for Western Australia during 2006-07.

Commerce:

The City of Mandurah is the major commercial centre of the Region and accommodates banking, investment and financial services, retail, wholesale, real estate, hospitality and accommodation services.  The retail sector, with approximately 4,200 jobs, is one of the largest employing industry sectors in the Region, accounting for 12.4% of the workforce. 

Tourism:

The City of Mandurah is the focal point for tourism and has become a favourite destination for day trippers and shoppers from Perth, and an increasing number of interstate and international visitors. This is supported by a regional network of tourist attractions.  During 2005 and 2006, the annual average number of visitors was 454,500. Intrastate visitors accounted for 88% of total overnight visitors, interstate visitors accounted for 8%, and international visitors accounted for 4%.  Since 2004 and 2005, the average annual number of intrastate visitors decreased by 4%, while the number of interstate visitors increased by 9%, and the number of international visitors increased by 20%.  This was accompanied by a 6% increase in total number of visitor nights, and a 9.5% increase in visitor expenditure.