Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams, Wacka, for his question. He is a great champion of Australian farmers and businesses and their interests. Australia is an exporting nation. It's exports that underpin so much of our economic strength. Around two-thirds of Australia's agricultural production is exported to the rest of the world. Our first and second export commodities are mineral and mining resources. Our third is, of course, in the emerging and growing services sector in terms of enormous education resources. Our exporters underpin around one in five Australian jobs, and they need the best access at the lowest cost to global markets for their goods and services. That's why the Liberal-National government has worked so hard over the last five years to ensure that our exporters' rights to those markets are protected and enhanced at every possible opportunity.

Our trade deals with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, coming on top of earlier agreements such as the agreement with the United States, are making it easier for Australian farmers and businesses. Five years ago, only 26 per cent of Australia's goods and services trade received duty-free or preferential access to overseas markets. Now, our signed agreements ensure that nearly 70 per cent of our trade has such preferential access or duty-free access. With current negotiations underway, that figure could grow to 88 per cent. That's what's helped to see exports of wine into China nearly quadruple from $211 million in 2014 to $827 million in 2017, beef exports to China surge to reach some $780 million last year and duty-free quotas for cheese and butter under ChAFTA provide huge opportunities for dairy products, to give just a handful of high-profile and significant benefits to Australia's farmers and businesses.