Qld exports focus on key markets as growth climbs
Queensland’s exports to its key international market have boomed, with Japan leading the way with a growth rate of 91 per cent in a year, according to analysis by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland.
Australia's agriculture exports are set to top a record $80 billion.(file image)
Exports to China fell 3 per cent for December, but over the 2021 year fell by 27 per cent. However, it was still the biggest market for Queensland business despite its trade bans.
The CCIQ said there were also substantial increases in exports to Indonesia, the US, South Korea, the UAE, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Vietnam exports fell by 3 per cent.
Beef was the biggest export and agriculture accounted for two-thirds of all exports.
Data from the Australia Bureau of Statistics showed strong national growth in exports which stood at $40.4 billion in December, compared with $25 billon in 2017.
The chamber’s trade and strategic relationships manager Diana Gueorguieva said Queensland exports were close to pre-Covid levels and climbing.
The exports are tracked by certificates of origin which increased 5 per cent in 2021 but export markets fell by 7 per cent, indicating that businesses were more directly targeting markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, USA, Thailand, the Philippines and India.
Meanwhile, the world’s largest free trade agreement came into force on January 1 and Australia was a signatory along with New Zealand, Cambodia, China, Japan, Brunei Darassalam, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Korea.
Gueorguieva said the new trade deal, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, would mean Australian businesses would have access to additional markets, tariff reductions, access to regional value chains and simplified administration.
The RCEP covers trade in goods and services, investment, economic and technical co-operation. It also created new rules for electronic commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, competition and small to medium enterprises.