Agriculture and food producers can access $72.7 million of Federal Government funds to expand and diversify their export markets in 2021.

The funding, announced as part of the government’s agribusiness expansion initiative, will enable Australia’s agri-food exporters expand their international markets.

Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Dan Tehan said the package would build on the government’s work to expand free trade agreements and market access for Australia’s agricultural sector.

“Trade plays a critical role in our economy, supporting one in five Australian jobs, and we want to ensure our agribusinesses have access to the right services and information to continue growing and expanding their overseas markets,” he said.

“This initiative will see government work in partnership with industry and individual businesses to map out new export markets and opportunities and take full advantage of the Government’s extensive trade and investment network to strengthen their businesses.”

The package comprises:

• $42.9m to scale up support to over 2,000 agri-food exporters each year through Austrade’s services. Austrade will also work with industry bodies such as CCIWA to deliver targeted advice and trade missions to help exporters grow in existing and new markets.
• An $18.4m expansion of the government’s Agricultural Trade and Market Access program (ATMAC), including partnerships with industry associations to improve Australia’s access to overseas markets.
• $3.5m for additional short-term agriculture counsellors to focus on actions necessary to grow agricultural exports, complementing the work of our existing Counsellor network.
• A $6.8m investment in enhanced scientific and technical market access capability, expanding the number of Australian scientists pursuing industry priorities in emerging and growth markets.
• A $1m boost to Australia’s market intelligence capability to give exporters the information they need to grow their exports.

For more, contact CCIWA’s International Trade and Investment Centre and Tradestart service – an extension of Austrade – at [email protected].