“Already, the numbers are coming in very positively … We’ve seen hundreds of millions of dollars of new business, but I think we can do a lot more,” he added.
He said Australia, which is home to about 27 million people, produces enough food to feed 90 million – more than three times its population.
“As people’s prosperity grows, we know that they have a demand for higher quality food and wine, and we think we can provide that. We’re close; we’ve got reliable supply chains,” Farrell noted.
“As sections of the world are closing down to free and fair trade, we’re opening up to it, and I think the opportunities are there to easily get double-digit growth.”
CONCERNS OVER US TARIFFS
Farrell also said he would be meeting United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who was at the AEM amid concerns within the bloc over the impact of US tariffs on their economies.
Tariff rates are at 19 per cent and 20 per cent for most of the region. Laos and Myanmar have been hit with a 40 per cent rate, while Singapore has a baseline 10 per cent tariff.
Australian goods exported to the US are similarly subject to a 10 per cent levy, but they are separate to the industry-specific tariffs of 50 per cent imposed by the Trump administration on Australian steel, aluminium and copper.
Farrell said his message to Greer is “simple”.
“Free and fair trade is the way you increase the prosperity of your country, and we believe that going down the track of tariffs is the wrong path. So, we’ll be encouraging the Americans to reconsider their position and to open up to free and fair trade,” he added.
Greer said on Wednesday that the US expects to finalise trade deals with more Southeast Asian countries in the coming months.
