Businesses can access up to $25,000 to export into Asia through a State Governments grants program to help strengthen WA’s presence in Asian markets. Round three of the Access Asia Business Grants program opened this week, via the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
The grants aim to support Western Australian small and medium businesses, and organisations such as Asian business councils and industry associations, advance their export and trade initiatives in Asian markets.
In late January, 18 WA small and medium enterprises received a share of $174,000 from the second round of Access Asia grants.
Among the recipients were CCIWA members Margaret River Wine Association, Ocean Grown Abalone and Geraldton Air Charter.
The 18 successful applicants were from a range of sectors, including energy, mining and mining equipment, technology and services, primary industries, international education and tourism, events and creative industries.
Tinley said the diverse range of businesses showed there were many opportunities there for local SMEs to expand into Asia.
“These business grants are just one way the WA Government is delivering on its Asian Engagement Strategy to help WA bounce back from COVID-19 and create jobs for Western Australians,” he said.
CCIWA’s International Trade and Investment Centre (ITIC) Manager Michael Carter said he had received an increase in trade enquiries from businesses wanting to enter Asian markets in recent months.
“In the last six to eight months we’ve seen a steady increase of trade enquires from SMEs wanting to find out about how to enter alternative or new markets within the Asian region,” he said.
“Similarly, the same from WA importers looking to source alternative global supply channel partners too.”
“Businesses are wanting to understand how they can identify the market opportunities and leverage the suite of Free Trade Agreements within the Asian rim of which there are nine in force for the Asian region.”
The latest being the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and Comprehensive, which came into force on 5 July last year, underpinning the significance of the WA Govt’s Asian Engagement Strategy 2019-2030.
In 2019-20, WA’s largest market for goods exports was China ($98.5 billion or 54 per cent), followed by Japan ($22.7b or 12 per cent).
South Korea and Singapore were WA’s fourth and fifth largest goods export markets in 2019-20, worth $10.4b and $7.1b respectively.
Almost 50 per cent of the successful applicants are CCIWA members and 40 per cent of them have their Certificates of Origin (COO) issued by the CCIWA.
To find out more about how to reduce the risk, cost and time of doing business in the Asian rim, contact ITIC on 9365 7620 or [email protected]
For more on the Access Asia Business Grants, visit the Access Asia Business Grants webpage.
