4. Bilateral and regional trade
Developments in key markets
Everyday commerce is the backbone of Australia's trading performance. While Australia's businesses do the exporting, the Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Austrade, helps to keep markets open, identifies new commercial opportunities, and assists Australian companies to realise those international opportunities.
Developments in key markets
United States
The United States is Australia's largest individual trading partner, being the second most important destination for our merchandise exports (after Japan) and our most important market for services and investment. Through the free trade agreement Australia is negotiating with the United States (link to Chapter 3) the Government will promote further growth in trade and investment between the two countries. Australian businesses will benefit from closer economic links with the world's biggest and most competitive economy.
Australia's
approach to quarantine
Steel
During 2002, the Government lobbied successfully to achieve exemptions from US safeguard' measures that had threatened Australian steel exports. More than 85 per cent of Australia's steel exports (worth close to $400 million in 1999) were exempted from potential safeguards tariffs of up to 30 per cent. The Government will act to secure further exemptions in the second year of the safeguard action in 2003 and preserve Australia's rights to take World Trade Organization (WTO) action if necessary.
US agricultural policies
The Government also made clear to the US Administration Australia's concerns about trade-distorting agricultural policies. The 2002 Farm Bill provides for big increases in US government spending on agriculture. By depressing global prices, as well as affecting access to the US market, this will hurt efficient, unsubsidised farmers in Australia and elsewhere.
Beef, dairy and sugar exports
The Government is pressing Australia's claims for increased access to the US market for Australia's agricultural industries. For example, Australia's efficient and unsubsidised beef industry is capable of filling the US's beef import quota and the Government will be seeking to expand our access. Australia is also pressing for better access to other heavily protected markets in the United States, particularly dairy and sugar.
THE PONTIAC GTO
Holden's famous Monaro will be in American showrooms by the end of 2003. Marketed as the Pontiac GTO, the Australian-built cars will be the first Holdens sent to the United States in volume since GMH was established in Australia in 1931.
The latest version of the legendary Pontiac GTO - the original American muscle car' - will be built at Holden's plant in Elizabeth, South Australia. Its 5.7 litre V8 engine is the same as that used in the Chevrolet Corvette.
The Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, said of the 18 000 vehicle Pontiac contract:
Holden has been a force in the Australian car industry for more than 70 years, and I can think of no better way of kicking-on their export business in the 21st century than by selling cars to the Americans.'
Australia's automotive exports continue to boom. Exports - valued at more than $4.8 billion in 2002 - now account for more than 30 per cent of local production.
European Union
Considered as a single entity, the European Union (EU) is our most important trading partner and our second-largest investment partner. Coal, non-monetary gold, alcoholic beverages and wool remain our major merchandise exports. But there is increasing diversity in our European export profile, with a higher proportion of value-added exports - manufacturing and processed primary products as well as services exports. With the EU expanding to 25 countries in 2004 (increasing the size of the single European market to more than 450 million people with a GDP close to that of the United States) there will be opportunities for Australia from economic reform and deregulation in newly joining countries.
Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (link to Chapter 2) remains a major focus for Australia. The Government is pressing for reform of the CAP with both the European Commission and individual member states, some of which are themselves pushing for reform.
The EU is now the largest export market for Australian wine - with sales of more than $1 billion in 2002 - and during the year Australia became the largest foreign supplier of wine to the United Kingdom by volume. The Government is working on issues left unresolved by the 1994 Australia-EU bilateral Wine Agreement and is pressing the EU to minimise the impact of new EC wine-labeling regulations on Australia's wine exporters.
For
Australian comments on the EU wine regulations (PDF)
TASSIE TULIPS TO HOLLAND
Tasmanian-based Van Diemen Quality Bulbs is exporting tulip bulbs to the Netherlands. Paul and Bronwen Roberts-Thomson began exporting five years ago, after a decade in the tulip business in Australia, having identified a niche opportunity to supply southern hemisphere-grown tulip bulbs that would be in flower in the Dutch off-season. The business now sends one million tulip bulbs a year to Holland and is enjoying strong export returns after concentrating on expensive varieties such as the Ad Rem, a glorious orange tulip, and the mauve-coloured Barcelona tulip. The business employs nine full-time staff in Tasmania's northwest, swelling to 30 (17 full time equivalents) in the tulip season. Exports comprise about 30 per cent of the business's tulip bulb revenue. Paul Roberts-Thomson says that notwithstanding its success, his company represents just 30 per cent of Tasmania's tulip bulb export industry.
Education and science & technology
Australia is highly regarded in Europe for its achievements in science and technology, and education. Agreements and pilot projects have promoted practical collaboration and linkages on research and development with significant potential for commercial spin-offs.
AUSTRALIAN ICT COMPANIES IN EUROPE
There are good opportunities in the UK and continental European markets for a range of ICT products and services in which Australia excels.
Australian IT company NeoProducts won the UK Employment Services contract for delivery of e-government services through touch screen terminals (kiosks). The 9 000 job search kiosks for the Employment Service is the largest such kiosk network in the world. Further contracts have been secured with Ireland's employment agency, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a number of regional authorities in the UK, and the Government of Ukraine.
The Australian IT companies, Computershare and Paritech have had big successes in the UK financial sector. Computershare services 42 per cent of the UK share registry market, while Paritech is a world leading distributor of charting analysis software programs and information downloading systems.
Australian company ERG has won a $17 million contract to provide a public transport ticketing system for the French region Bouches du Rhône. Melbourne company, ManageSoft, which develops technology for managing software deployment, has had an office in Germany since 1991 and the European arm of the business now accounts for a quarter of the company's annual revenue. ManageSoft says the European market is very strong for smaller ICT companies.
For information on key European economies and the Russian Federation:
Switzerland
country information
Japan
Japan is Australia's biggest merchandise trading partner. In May the two prime ministers, Mr Howard and Mr Koizumi, jointly announced that Australia and Japan would explore all options for deepening trade and investment links.
Officials from the two countries will recommend next steps to the prime ministers in mid-2003.
For
further information on Japan trade and investment negotiations
During 2002 the Government pursued a range of market access and public awareness issues with Japan, including
- promoting the safety and quality of our beef exports against the background of the discovery of BSE (mad cow disease') in the Japanese domestic herd
- recognition of Australian standards for construction materials and of fruit fly-free status for specific areas of the Australian mainland
- promoting Japanese awareness of the capabilities of Australian ICT companies.
A coordinated campaign led by the Trade Minister, Mr Vaile, and involving Australia's Ambassador to Japan and our Chief Veterinary Officer ensured that accurate and positive messages were delivered to the Japanese Government and directly to Japanese consumers about the safety of eating Australian beef. This followed a decline in Japanese consumer demand for beef as a result of a BSE outbreak in Japan.
From 2003 Australian horses will not be at a disadvantage in competing for prize money in Japanese horse racing. Five years of lobbying by the Government culminated in Japan agreeing to handicap Australian thoroughbred horses that are competing in the rich Japan Cup according to the widely used International Racing Federation system.
The year also saw the completion of trials of in-transit treatment of Australian citrus exports to Japan. Following confirmation of the trials' success, Australian citrus producers should have access to more markets in Japan.
Japan is an important source of tourism for Australia and the Government underlined to the Japanese Government and the Japanese public Australia's safety as a tourist destination following the Bali terrorist attack.
LNG - Australia's biggest ever export deal
On 18 October 2002, Australia's largest ever single trade deal was formalised at Parliament House in Canberra between Australia and China, with the signing by the Australian gas sellers and Chinese buyers of a Sale and Purchase Agreement for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the value of $25 billion. The signing was the culmination of sustained cooperation by government and business and the contract marks the first step in attaining a key Australian strategic objective: a long-term energy partnership with China.
The LNG deal was the product of a coordinated effort between the Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments and representatives of North West Shelf and Australia LNG. The efforts of the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, were integral to Australia's success in winning the contract.
The contract will see the North West Shelf Venture supply the Guangdong LNG Terminal and Trunkline Project Joint Venture with 3.3 million tonnes of LNG per year, valued at up to $1 billion per year for a quarter of a century from 2005-06. A separate government-to-government agreement established a $25 million joint research fund to cover training in bilateral gas cooperation.
Supply of LNG to Guangdong will raise the value of Australia's total LNG exports from $2.4 billion to around $3.5 billion per year. Construction of a fifth processing train on the Burrup Peninsular in Western Australia will inject around $1 billion into the regional North-Western Australian economy over three years.
China
China is Australia's third largest trading partner and the Australian and Chinese economies are highly complementary. China's economic growth and development and its implementation of WTO accession commitments offer many opportunities for Australian businesses.
At the government-to-government level, the two countries are enhancing their formal ties. In May 2002 the Prime Minister, Mr Howard, and the Premier of China, Mr Zhu Rongji, announced the beginning of work on a new economic and trade framework agreement between the two countries. The framework, which marks in a practical way the 30th anniversary of relations between the two countries, will strengthen the long-term economic relationship.
At the business level, Australian companies are increasingly supplying China with the high-quality industrial raw materials, energy, technology and services it needs for its modernisation programs. Australia's export profile in China is diverse: for example Australians are selling smart card technology, telephone switching systems and fibre-optic cable to China's rapidly expanding regional phone network. More than 400 Australian companies are now estimated to be investing in China in the manufacturing, mineral exploration, transport and services sectors.
Further
reading - China Embraces the World Market
Republic of Korea (ROK)
Australia's trade relationship with the Republic of Korea (ROK) - Australia's sixth-largest trading partner - strengthened during 2002. Business links prospered under the mantle of the Australia-Korea and Korea-Australia Business Councils, which met jointly in Seoul on 13 September 2002. Discussion focused on proposals for closer cooperation in new technologies.
At the government level, Mr Vaile attended the second Ministerial Joint Trade and Economic Commission (MJTEC II) in Seoul in April 2002, where he also highlighted Australia's credentials as a quality supplier of automotive parts to the ROK.
Raw materials - petroleum, coal, iron ore, non-monetary gold and aluminium - continued to dominate Australia's exports to Korea in 2002 and are set for further growth as the Korean economy and its demand for energy rebounds. Moreover, our tourism and education sectors are regaining their place in the bilateral trade relationship. Both are starting to recover to levels attained before the late-90s East Asian financial crisis.
Live cattle to the Republic of Korea
The Australian Embassy in Seoul conducted a concerted public information campaign in the Republic of Korea (ROK) on the safety of Australian beef exports.
The Government worked closely with Australian cattle exporters and ROK authorities to resume the trade following the May 2001 suspension of cattle exports to Korea after two consignments of cattle from Australia tested positive to the blue-tongue virus. The successful public relations and information campaign culminated in a shipment of 563 Australian steers being unloaded at the port of Incheon near Seoul on 5 October 2002.
Resumption of the live cattle trade will benefit both Australia and the ROK. The live cattle trade with Korea could involve up to 8500 head of cattle annually, worth an estimated $20 million to Australian producers and exporters. The Korean cattle industry will benefit from the reduction in the slaughter rate of female Hanwoo (traditional) cattle and extra employment and profit in Korea's feed manufacturing, transport and meat processing industries.
Republic
of Korea Fact Sheet (PDF)
Republic
of Korea country information
New Zealand
Closer Economic Relations - economic integration at its best
Australia's free trade agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, commonly known as the CER Agreement, is 20 years old this year. CER is a comprehensive arrangement covering almost all trade and investment between the two countries. As well as underpinning bilateral trade and investment, CER is the umbrella for close collaboration across quarantine, customs, transport, defence and social welfare issues.
Since CER's inception Australia-New Zealand trade has increased six-fold and the growth in trans-Tasman merchandise trade has been faster than growth in Australia's trade with the rest of the world. New Zealand is now Australia's 5th largest market. Australia is the largest foreign investor in New Zealand and a major destination for New Zealand investment.
CER's positive impact extends beyond the exchange of goods and services. The new joint Food Standards Code - which came into effect in December 2002 and applies uniform labelling and other standards to food products across the two countries - is an example of regulation at its best: minimum regulation to benefit industry and consumers alike. The two governments are cooperating further in the regulation of therapeutic products and business law issues.
CER's 20th anniversary is cause for celebration. It is a model of a comprehensive, liberalising and trade-creating FTA that has contributed to multilateral liberalization.
New
Zealand country information
ASEAN
Indonesia
Indonesia is Australia's tenth-largest export market and an important economic partner - about 400 Australian companies have a presence in Indonesia. The October 2002 Bali terrorist attack has had an impact on Indonesia's tourism industry and Australia's merchandise exports to Indonesia fell by 5 per cent in 2002, largely as a result of the drought.
Indonesia is Australia's largest market for live cattle, accounting for more than 40 per cent of our exports. Australia exported 428 000 head of cattle to Indonesia in 2002, bringing record export revenue of $256 million. (Globally, live cattle exports were worth $613 million to Australia in 2002.) Education exports also feature prominently in our trade with Indonesia, with Australia now hosting about 17 000 Indonesian students.
Malaysia
Australia-Malaysia Partnership:
Halal Food Production and Marketing
Mr Vaile and his Malaysian counterpart, Minister for International Trade and Industry, Rafidah Aziz, announced at the 10th Australia-Malaysia Joint Trade Committee a cooperative Australia-Malaysia initiative for halal food production and marketing to international markets.
Under the initiative, the Australian and Malaysian governments and industries will cooperate in the production of halal products for export to international markets. The annual global trade in halal food products is valued at around US$50 billion. The Middle East, which imported US$20 billion in food in 2000, will be a key target market.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Austrade, in cooperation with the Australia-Malaysia Business Council (AMBC), have been at the forefront in developing the halal food initiative. DFAT and Austrade will work closely with the AMBC on implementation, including the development of mutually acceptable standards to guarantee that the food produced is safe and halal at every stage of production.
Information on Malaysia from the Austrade website
Thailand
Negotiations on the Australia-Thailand Closer Economic Relations Free Trade Agreement (CER-FTA) are an opportunity to discuss existing and proposed trade policy settings. Mr Vaile met Thailand's Minister for Commerce, Dr Adisai, several times during the year to discuss development of the trade relationship, including at the November WTO Mini-Ministerial Meeting in Sydney where they jointly announced early harvest provisions of the CER-FTA.
During 2002 the Government advocated the relaxation of Thailand's high tariff rates, and sought better mutual understanding of Australia's quarantine and anti-dumping policies. Thailand reduced tariffs on a variety of imports of interest to Australia, including cheese, wool, alloy steel and lead.
Information on Thailand from the Austrade website
Vietnam
As Vietnam continues its economic reform, including reforms associated with its objective of WTO accession, there will be more opportunities for trade and investment with Australia. The Government is facilitating Australia's trade and investment links with Vietnam through the Joint Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee meeting co-chaired by Mr Vaile and the Vietnamese Planning and Investment Minister, Mr Vo Hong Phuc, and by supporting visiting business delegations.
For other ASEAN Fact Sheets and country information:
Philippines
country information
India
India's ongoing domestic reforms provide opportunities for Australian companies in sectors as diverse as energy development, education, specialist health care and environmental services, film production and agribusiness products. Australian businesses are already doing well in the Indian market. Our merchandise exports to India totaled nearly $2.5 billion in 2002 and have doubled since 1996. Growth has been underpinned by rising demand for Australian coal, minerals, non-monetary gold, wool and fresh vegetables.
The recent Indian budget (still to be approved by the Indian parliament) reduces tariffs on all greasy wool used for apparel from 15 per cent to 5 per cent. The good outcome for Australian exporters (India is Australia's fifth-largest market for wool) follows a recent visit to India by the Trade Minister, Mr Vaile, who pressed Australia's case directly with the Indian Government. It represents the culmination of several years of effort by the Minister, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's textiles and clothing market access team and the Australian industry.
To give impetus to our exports to India, the Government is seeking further reductions in tariffs on wool, coal, wheat, apples, macadamia nuts, wine, and specialised drying oils. New prospects for trade with India continue to emerge - see the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's publication India: New Economy, Old Economy.
Middle East
The personal touch: promoting Australian business in the Middle East
The Government is helping Australians seize business opportunities in the Middle East, our fastest-growing regional market over the past five years. Mr Vaile has been a frequent visitor to the region and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a regional network of eight posts that work closely with the private sector and other governments to advance Australia's interests.
In July 2002 Mr Vaile led a trade delegation to Libya, where new opportunities for trade have arisen since the 1999 suspension of United Nations sanctions (Australia's merchandise exports to Libya more than doubled in 2002). The delegation made good progress on the sale of agricultural produce, oil and gas exploration equipment, services and veterinary pharmaceuticals.
In September Mr Vaile led a 53-strong business delegation to Iran, representing 39 companies, including AWB Ltd, BHP Billiton and Woodside. He also co-hosted the 9th meeting of the Australia-Iran Joint Ministerial Commission. The visit opened new areas of bilateral cooperation and generated very positive media coverage in Iran, boosting Australia's profile as a modern, technologically advanced economy, as well as a valued supplier of wheat and other primary commodities. The two countries agreed to negotiate an Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement.
Mr Vaile's visits to Iran and Libya included stopovers in the United Arab Emirates, one of Australia's key Middle Eastern markets. An Air Services Agreement was signed and Mr Vaile announced the Government's decision to increase the frequencies available to Emirates Airlines for services to Sydney, which will facilitate tourism, education exchanges and the transport of high value airfreight between the two countries.
Australia's exports to the Middle East have had several years of very strong growth (our merchandise exports have increased more than 75 per cent since 1999). Against this background, our exports moderated in 2002 - mainly as a result of slower economic growth in the region caused by lower oil export revenues. Australia's export success in the Middle East is underpinned by our longstanding reputation as a reliable supplier of quality foods and other primary products. Major food exports to the region include wheat, live animals, dairy products, meat products, barley, rice and fresh vegetables. But our export profile is diversifying, with non-farm products and investment assuming more importance.
Passenger motor vehicle exports - Australian-built cars are now sold in nine Middle Eastern countries - have been the outstanding Australian manufacturing success story in the Middle East. Exports of cars to the region had a value of $1.8 billion in 2002. But there have been many promising developments in manufacturing exports, and in services trade and investment.
Amongst Australia's growing manufacturing exports to the Middle East are agricultural machinery, scientific and medical equipment, ICT equipment, ships and aircraft parts. The success of these exports reflects both Australia's strong competitiveness and the good match between Australian capabilities and regional requirements.
Australia's services exporters and investors, too, are taking a greater interest in the Middle East region. The Multiplex sign is well known on construction sites in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and in Qatar the Australian consultancy firm GHD, working closely with Austrade, has been appointed prime consultant to plan and implement the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Other Australian business services providers represented in the region include legal advisors, recruitment consultants, banks, ICT providers and freight services.
For Middle East Fact Sheets and country information:
Saudi
Arabia country information
United
Arab Emirates Fact Sheet (PDF)
United
Arab Emirates country information
Business
Report: Accessing Middle East Growth
Latin America
Australia's commercial relationship with Latin America is growing, despite the region's continuing economic difficulties, but we are yet to take full advantage of the opportunities in a market of over 500 million people that includes the 9th and 11th largest economies in the world (Mexico and Brazil).
Australian investment in Latin America, while concentrated in the region's large mining and agribusiness sectors, is diversifying, particularly into the services sector, with financial services providers such as QBE now active in the region. Australian education services exports to Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have increased rapidly, with student numbers quadrupling since 1997.
Council on Australia Latin America Relations
2002 saw the first full operational year of the Council on Australia Latin America Relations, established to enhance Australia's relations with Latin America across the board. While the Council's activities are commercially focused, they also extend into cultural and political spheres. The Council has helped fund an Australia Latin America Business Council (ALABC) website and membership drive, and a Doing Business in Mexico' guide.
The Council has also published - in Spanish and Portuguese - a report highlighting Australian environmental capabilities for the Latin America market.
For Latin America Fact Sheets and country information:
Further
reading on Latin America
Canada
Canada is a natural market for Australian products and services and an attractive entry point for new exporters to the North American market.
The Government's strategy is currently focused on food and beverages, consumer and industrial products, ICT (selling to Government), mining and biotechnology. The Bio-2002 (Biotechnology) event in Toronto in June 2002 profiled Australia's biotechnology capabilities to an international audience and generated some potentially significant commercial opportunities.
Further opportunities will be identified and progressed in promising sectors such as education, sustainable energy and environment, natural products (health, nutraceuticals, functional foods) and giftware.
For
TradeWatch information on other countries
For
Austrade information on countries and industries
The Market Development Group
Reporting to the Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, the Market Development Group (MDG) targets bilateral market access opportunities in specific sectors and coordinates the Commonwealth Government approach. It is made up of representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Austrade, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (DITR), the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (AFFA), the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE), the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DoCITA), and the Department of Education, Science and Tourism (DEST).
The MDG meets at a senior strategic planning level and at senior officials' level. The senior-level group met twice in 2002 and the officials group met four times. The group made progress on many MDG priorities in global markets, with current efforts focusing on:
- information and communications technology sales to Taiwan
- biotechnology investment and export sales to Taiwan
- exports of timber products to Japan
- automotive component exports to China
- inbound international (particularly US) film and television production activity in Australia
- exports of ICT goods and services to Europe and the Middle East.
EXPORT SUCCESS STORIES
...in the Pacific
Bottles of Australia Pty Ltd, a company operating out of Canberra, specialises in the manufacture of sports drink bottles. The company joined a business mission to Fiji organised by Austrade and the Australia/Fiji Business Council in October 2001. Austrade Suva undertook market research for the company prior to the visit, and arranged a business matching program and networking events during the visit. The result was Bottles of Australia's first export sale. The company will supply their range of sports drink bottles to the South Pacific Games in Fiji in June 2003.
...in Europe
The success of the Sydney 2000 Games has placed many Australian businesses in a good position to win Olympics-related work in Athens 2004. One Australian company to do so is leading consulting firm Sinclair Knight Merz, who won the contract to assist with the delivery of the main stadium and velodrome for the Games.
Lone and vulnerable workers, children and valuable assets can now be protected in the United Kingdom by new Australian technology available from March 2003. The Australian company, QuikTrak Networks plc, has entered the UK market with their location and messaging system. The system provides tracking and data messaging products and services for cars, commercial vehicles, plant and equipment, property and people.
...in North America
Wine exporters in four states benefited from an Austrade buyer visit in August 2002. Australia's Trade Commissioner in San Francisco, Helen Jenkin, arranged a comprehensive program for importer Grape Expectations of North Carolina, taking in the Wine Australia show in Sydney and winery visits in Victoria and South Australia. Austrade selected Grape Expectations for the visit based on their demonstrated commitment to expanding into the Australian category, their desire to add at least 4-5 brands to their portfolio in the immediate term, and their long-term view that Australian wines would continue to be a significant player in the US market.
Five months down the track, distribution is now in place for five winemakers with initial sales secured. For example, wines from four states (Gemtree Vineyards - McLaren Vale SA; Wandin Valley Estate - Hunter Valley NSW; Willow Bridge - WA; Connor Park - Bendigo, Victoria) are now available for American wine lovers to enjoy. These sales figures are expected to increase significantly as the American love affair with quality Australian wine continues. (See also box in Chapter 6.)
...in the Middle East and Africa
GHD has been appointed lead consultant for the preparation of the Master Plan and to provide assistance with the implementation for the 2006 Asian Games, Doha, Qatar. This event will involve the expenditure of billions of dollars on facilities, infrastructure and the supply of goods and services for the Games, and could provide many opportunities for Australian companies. Austrade, Australia Sport International and DFAT worked with GHD for two years to help secure the contract. GHD, leading an all-Australian consortium, have prepared a master plan on behalf f the Doha Asian Games Organising Committee including venue design, security, transport, accommodation and the opening and closing ceremonies. There will be further opportunities for Australian companies to provide building materials, ticketing services, traffic management, and other products and services for Doha 2006. There are future plans for football stadia, cricket stadia and two formula one motor sport circuits in the region, which may offer further opportunities to Australian companies.
In May 2002 Gippsland Aeronautics sold aircraft worth $3.6 million to South Africa, Botswana & Mozambique, with buyers noting that Australian aircraft are perfectly suited to Africa's rugged conditions. Aircraft built in regional Victoria are ferrying tourists from major airports to safari camps in South Africa. Gippsland Aeronautics, which makes commercial eight-seater passenger and freighter aircraft, employs 90 people in the Latrobe Valley. Its Airvans aircraft have also been sold to Indonesia and Belize, and the company is pursuing new customers in the Middle East, North America and Europe.
...in South Asia
In conjunction with Indian pharmaceutical company, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Gribbles Pathology of Victoria has formed Pathnet India Pvt Ltd to establish two laboratories and 32 collection centres in India. Managing Director of Pathnet India, Malcolm Stringer, welcomed the Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, to the joint venture operations in February 2003 during the Minister's visit to India, where he led a 51-member business delegation.
...in South East Asia
Ecosol Pty Ltd has achieved contracts worth more than $1.5 million to install gross pollutant traps in the new Malaysian satellite city of Putrajaya. The pollutant traps remove waste from storm water and sewage systems. Austrade helped Ecosol to identify the opportunity in Malaysia, research the market and find potential partners. Ecosol is now looking to expand its business further in international markets.
...and in North Asia
In 2002, a joint venture consortium led by Barclay Mowlem Construction Ltd secured a $180 million contract to build 29km of low vibration track and an additional 3 km of track on viaduct as part of Taiwan's high speed rail project. The Taiwan High Speed Rail development is the largest infrastructure project of its kind in the world, with an estimated total cost of US$15 billion. When completed in 2005, the service will transport commuters from Taipei to Kaohsiung in the south of Taiwan at speeds of up to 300 km/h.
In September 2002, Ozcent signed an $80,000 contract for the sale of advanced water treatment technology to China. The sale flowed directly from an Austrade-organised meeting in Australia between Ozcent and Vice-Minister Wang Xinfeng of China's State Environment Protection Administration.