SA businesses shatter exports records with China

South Australian exports to China have hit unprecedented levels, rising 48 per cent in the year to September 2024 to reach a new all-time high. 

According to ABS data release yesterday, $4.37 billion of South Australian products were exported to China, the state’s largest trading partner, breaking the previous record by $100 million.

This comes as more than $20 million in new export agreements were signed at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai this week. 

The Department of State Development assisted 26 companies in attending and exhibiting at the China International Import Expo, China’s largest international trade event, which is running from 5 to 10 November.

The Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) were supported in-market by the department’s trade and investment office in Shanghai. 

Three South Australian seafood exporters were among the 11 companies that penned MOUs, as seafood exports to China increased 41 per cent to $14.2 million in the year to September 2024. 

This growth has been primarily led by Southern Bluefin Tuna exports, which have skyrocketed almost 650 per cent to $7.7 million.

China’s ban on imports of Australian live rock lobster is anticipated to be removed before the end of the year. 

The lobster industry is poised to capitalise on these opportunities with the return of China Southern flights out of Adelaide, direct to Guangzhou, next month.

The flights will solve a crucial piece of the puzzle for local lobster producers needing to deliver fresh lobster by air freight directly to China. 

Prior to the ban, China had imported up to 825 tonnes of South Australian lobster in a year. China Southern’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner will unlock 2,340 tonnes of outbound air freight every year.

Overall, the total value of South Australian exports has once again hovered near record highs at $17.6 billion (down just 0.2 per cent) over the last 12 months to September.

South Australia’s top three export markets all saw significant growth with China at $4.37 billion (up 28 per cent), the United States at $2.14 billion (up 34 per cent), and India at $1.15 billion (up 7 per cent).

South Australia was the second-best performing state in terms of export growth, behind only Victoria.

A new trade deal removing tariffs over 99 per cent of Australia’s exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed this week by the federal government, is set to further benefit South Australian farmers.

The Australia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (A-UAE CEPA) will eliminate tariffs on key exports like meat, dairy, grains and oilseeds, chickpeas, lentils, nuts, horticulture and honey. 

This follows the return of daily Emirates flights from Adelaide to Dubai in October that added 98 tonnes of direct, outbound air freight capacity every week - saving time, lowering costs, and extending the shelf life of local exporters’ goods once they reach the Middle East.

The UAE is already South Australia’s largest trading partner in the middle east – accounting for $245 million in exports in the 12 months to September 2024.