Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank our great member for Gilmore. She is a terrific supporter of Australian farmers. She knows how important they are to our country and how respected they are in our country and indeed around the world. Here at home our agriculture sector employs hundreds of thousands of people. The total value of agriculture, fisheries and forestry production has increased by around 47 per cent over the last 20 years. Indeed, it hit a record level of $100 billion in 2022-23. And our Aussie farmers continue feeding the world through $76 billion worth of agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports annually. We have the globe's best produce—and the world knows it.

That's why it was such an honour to represent Australian farmers last week at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation minister's meeting. Indeed, for more than three decades APEC has been vital for promoting open and inclusive rules based trade and practical market oriented regulatory reform in our region.

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