International Trade

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (15:07): My question is to the Minister for Trade and Investment. Can the minister please provide an update to the council about how the Marshall Liberal government is maintaining international engagement during the coronavirus pandemic?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade and Investment) (15:07): I thank the honourable member for her second question, and I have had the honour and privilege of receiving both of those questions. It is a very important question. The international coronavirus lockdown has had obvious ramifications for South Australian exporters and our other businesses who find themselves unable to meet with their business partners and travel overseas to trade shows as well.

At this time it pays to have people on the ground in our key markets. Fortunately for South Australian businesses, our government has been hard at work to re-establish South Australia's overseas trade office network. Our new representatives in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tokyo and Houston are providing invaluable support in facilitating business deals and providing timely market intelligence.

Our officers have been reaching out to our businesses over the past two months and, as I informed the chamber earlier this week, we have run a number of webinars—in fact, I think 24 market webinars—into China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the UK, the US and India. In fact, as we sit here, I think it is just concluding—an in-market webinar in India with Austrade that we are jointly hosting.

We are following through on our election commitment to grow our international trade network, and I can advise the chamber that the Department for Trade and Investment is very close to finalising the recruitment for our Dubai office, which will head up the engagement through the Middle East, North Africa and the subcontinent. This will include seeking opportunities for our state when the world visits the region in the upcoming World Expo and the Qatar World Cup when the dates are finalised for them, given the delays due to the coronavirus.

Furthermore, considering our half a billion dollars a year trade with India, the Marshall Liberal government has also made a decision to embed a trade officer with an Austrade in New Delhi. In a move to further diversify our markets we will be embedding another trade officer in Seoul, South Korea. Interestingly, after China, the US and Japan, South Korea is Australia's fourth largest trading partner and sits just 10^th for South Australia so its potential for growth is quite clear.

There are many challenges in today's increasingly volatile trade environment but you can be assured that the Marshall Liberal government is dedicated in its efforts to continue our international engagement to support local exporters to grow jobs and make South Australia stronger than before.