Agricultural Trade With Asia

AGRICULTURAL TRADE WITH ASIA

Mr SMITH: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries and Minister for Mines. What benefits will your signing of a memorandum of understanding with South Korea bring to primary producers in New South Wales?

Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Blue Mountains to order for the second time.

Mr CAUSLEY: I thank the honourable member for Bega for his question. It is obvious from the comments from the other side of the House that Opposition members know nothing about agriculture. The Opposition has one member who represents something like a country seat and he visits his electorate only irregularly. There is no doubt that most of the knowledge about agriculture rests on this side of the House. I had the pleasure recently of travelling to South Korea and to China to sign an important agreement with the Government of South Korea. As honourable members would realise, the New South Wales Government has placed very high importance on trying to develop links between the agricultural producers in New South Wales and the markets of Asia.

Long before the Prime Minister discovered Asia we were there, and agencies from this particular Government have been making approaches to companies and to governments in Asia in an attempt to develop the markets that are so necessary for our primary producers and for the economy of New South Wales and Australia. I had the pleasure of signing with the South Korean Vice-Minister for Agriculture, Mr Kim Tae Soo, a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint agricultural food association to promote two-way trade. Honourable members would realise that in most of these countries - not only Asian countries, but in many countries - there are trade barriers, many of them artificial. Of course, the Uruguay Round was seeking to break down these tariffs and trade barriers so that we could have free trade between the countries. South Korea is no different. There is no doubt that the visit, if nothing else, has helped to foster some relationship between the two governments so that we can break down some of those barriers.

I am pleased that the South Korean Government, through its agency the Korean Agricultural and Fishery Marketing Corporation - a government agency - is very keen to deal with the producers of New South Wales. Through Agsell, New South Wales Agriculture has been developing relationships
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with these companies in co-operation with Austrade and the Australian embassy in those countries so that we can increase trade between the two countries. South Korea is interested in buying our horticulture, our chilled lamb, our beef and our wool in particular. We have negotiated deals on cherries, avocados and mangoes. I know the honourable member for Londonderry would not really understand it, but the fact is that these are very important industries. The honourable member for Coffs Harbour would know that a co-operative has been formed on the North Coast to try to fly out of Coffs Harbour the produce that is produced on the North Coast to many of these Asian countries. It is a lucrative market. The advantage Australia has is with its seasons. When it is winter in Korea it is summer down here.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Drummoyne to order.

Mr CAUSLEY: The South Koreans realise that our modern communications enable us to get fresh fruit and vegetables into their country very quickly. The honourable member for Drummoyne does not understand what he is talking about. We have had high level discussions on agriculture in China.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Cronulla to order for the second time.

Mr CAUSLEY: We had discussions with the Minister of Foreign Investment and Trade and his deputy about developments in China, especially in respect of wool. The Chinese are very interested in buying our wool. They have innovative ideas. One company they have set up, and which they want us to join, envisages that the wool will be processed in China, woven in Scotland and sold in America. That is an interesting combination of countries. That would be of great benefit to our wool industry. Following my negotiations with the Chinese group, a representative of an Australian company will go to China in the next two or three weeks to sign a joint venture agreement. I think we will see a substantial amount of our wool stockpile sold into China and processed. That is a strong prospect for agriculture in this State.

Last year our sales to China totalled $23.8 million. Anyone who understands the new China will realise that it has enormous markets that can be developed, to the great benefit to Australia. Rice in particular has been a protected industry in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries. The doors are opening up. The Uruguay Round certainly helped. In Japan mother nature helped also: a typhoon wiped out most of the rice crop. This year we are getting 200,000 tonnes of our rice into Japan. That is a big breakthrough. The interesting fact is that in Japan rice sells for about $A8 a kilo and we can supply it for about $A2. Undoubtedly significant opportunities will open up in that market once we can break down the political barriers. That is the real problem in those countries.

In China's Jiling Province we had negotiations with the vice-mayor. That province is interested in our expertise in beef, especially regarding feedlots. The beef cattle in northern China are of poor quality and the Chinese would like assistance to improve their technology, especially in genetics, embryo transplants and the high-tech areas of genetics in which Australians are expert. We can be of assistance in those provinces by helping them to improve their agricultural production. The benefits to Australia will be that although the Chinese do not eat a lot of meat, if they can be encouraged to develop a taste for beef, unquestionably our industries will prosper as a result of the help that we can give to those Asian countries.

Honourable members should understand the importance of this contact. In Asia I learned that Australians are held in high esteem. That has been of assistance in the negotiations in South Korea and China. The discussions we have had in those countries will ensure that benefits will flow to Australia in the years to come. I have a lot more to tell honourable members about agriculture. I know that the honourable member for Port Stephens will issue a press release that will have no relevance to the matters I have spoken about. That is what he usually does.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! There are far too many interjections by members on both sides of the House.

Mr CAUSLEY: Unquestionably the relationships have improved. I mentioned Japan and rice. We have had a great relationship with the Hannan Corporation over a number of years. That company sells our produce in Japan, South Korea, China and Singapore. When I go to their shops in those countries it is pleasing to see Australian cheese, wines and other products on sale. The Hannan Corporation has such a high regard for New South Wales that yesterday I had the pleasure of accepting, on behalf of the Premier, a cheque for $100,000 for the bushfire relief fund. I pay tribute to the Hannan Corporation. Many Australian corporations and companies contributed to that fund, but for an overseas corporation to give $100,000 to that fund merits congratulations.