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Government of South Australia - Department of State Development

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    South Australia's dairy exports flow

    South Australia’s dairy producers are milking the rewards as the state records a 23 per cent increase in dairy exports, valued at $152.7 million to May 2024.

    The latest trade data released earlier this month, shows that South Australia exported 31.3 million kilograms of dairy products.

    All dairy products experienced growth in volume and FOB value, including:

    • Cheese – up 40.5 per cent to $71.4 million
    • Milk – up 4.6 per cent to $66.6 million
    • Dairy other – up 39.9 per cent to $12.7 million
    • Butter – up 1,316.1 per cent to $1.8 million
    • Eggs – up 21.1 per cent to $.3 million.

    The top dairy exports include:

    • Cheese to the Philippines (up 18.4 per cent to $20.8 million), China (up 93.2 per cent to $15.9 million) and Thailand (up 6.8 per cent to $13.3 million)
    • Milk to Thailand (up 160.5 per cent to $23.4 million), Indonesia ($22.7 million) and China ($8.8 million).

    The latest monthly export data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that the state’s overall merchandise exports reached $17.6 billion in the 12 months to May 2024.

    Exports to China reached a record high of $4.02 billion, driven by a $203 million surge in wine sales since the lifting of trade tariffs and release of the South Australian Government $1.85 million investment in the Wine Exporter China Re-Engagement Support Package.

    TradeStart's support for our state's exporters

    More than 500 South Australian businesses have been supported over the past 12 months to grow their exports by TradeStart, a program co-funded by the Commonwealth and South Australian governments.

    South Australia has six TradeStart advisers who, together, work closely with businesses to help them sell their products and services overseas. They specialise in helping companies develop their export growth plans, access important grants, get expert regulatory advice, and tap into overseas in-market opportunities.

    Advisers play a vital role in connecting businesses with more than 60 overseas trade offices through the Commonwealth and State governments’ global networks.

    The extension of this agreement marks the first time the Australian Government’s TradeStart network has included all states and territory governments.

    Adelaide’s The Yoghurt Shop is one of many dairy companies that has seen significant export growth since engaging with TradeStart, entering three new countries in the last six months.

    “We first connected with the TradeStart team almost 10 years ago when we were looking at the opportunity that China provided us with for export,” said Mr Brandon Reynolds, COO, The Yoghurt Shop. “I’ve found working with our TradeStart advisers to be nothing short of excellent, one particular thing I have enjoyed about working with our advisers is their real-world experience that they brought to the role.

    “Having access to advice on international markets has given us an edge over producers internationally, and even over those of our interstate colleagues, because the TradeStart advisers are consistently across market changes, opportunities and development.

    “Without our TradeStart advisers, we would not have been able to achieve the success we have in our export markets.”

    Kris Lloyd AM, CEO and Head Cheese Maker at Woodside Cheese Wrights agrees.

    “Woodside Cheese Wrights currently exports to the US, with a unique range of cheese products that demonstrate our place, Australia, with thoughtful use of Native Australian ingredients. This is supported by the excellence of our local biosecurity, the enabler to start our process with world-class milk, identifying the source at every level.

    “Our recent contracts with Wholefood Markets and Costco in the US are a testament to the appeal of our products in these highly contested markets. We look forward to continuing our work with TradeStart to enable our continued growth and successful export journey.

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