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More than a dozen Queensland producers showcased the state’s fruit and vegetable bounty at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong in early September.

Asia Fruit Logistica is an annual gathering that brings together every link of the international fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain to network and do business.

This year’s event attracted more than 13,500 trade visitors, who connected with 826 exhibitors from 46 countries.

Queensland producers were among the exhibitors, showcasing everything from fresh fruit and vegetables (including eco-bananas, mangoes, avocados, lettuce, pumpkin, potatoes and salad leaves) to juices and more.

Some of the Queensland contingent chose to showcase their produce at their own independent booths, while others joined the AusVeg and Hort Innovation stands in the Australia Pavilion.

The Queenslanders also received support from TIQ’s Hong Kong office, which introduced them to potential local business partners.

Queensland Trade and Investment Commissioner for Hong Kong Julia Herries said TIQ staff were delighted to support the Queensland companies by providing local knowledge and introductions.

‘We were very pleased to be able to attend the reception in the Australia Pavilion and take the opportunity to introduce the Queensland companies to some of our key local contacts,’ she said.

‘Our Senior Business Development Manager also accompanied a Queensland supplier to a business banquet organised by distributors Huizhan Market and Hui Zhan International, where she introduced the supplier to potential contacts from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing to explore export business to China.

‘Events like Asia Fruit Logistica are a great opportunity for Queensland companies to make face-to-face contacts and start building relationships in export markets.’

Asia Fruit Logistica ran from 4 to 6 September at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo Center.

If you would like to explore agricultural export opportunities in Hong Kong, contact TIQ’s Hong Kong office or Brisbane-based Food and Agriculture team.

Agricultural exports to Asia are identified as one of Queensland’s growing strengths in the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

Queensland companies attending Asia Fruit Logistica included:

• Dicky Bill Australia
• Good Life Organics
• Harrowsmiths International & Nutrafruit
• Mackays
• Manbulloo
• Marto Farms
• Moffatt Fresh Produce
• Mulgowie Farming Company
• Nutrano
• One Harvest
• Perfection Fresh
• Qualipac
• The Avolution
• VF Plus.

Three decades of friendship and fruitful collaboration between Queensland and Shanghai were celebrated in late September during Deputy Premier Jackie Trad’s trade mission to China.

Representing Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Ms Trad joined the Vice Mayor of Shanghai, His Excellency Mr Xu Kunlin, to sign the twelfth iteration of the Queensland-Shanghai Memorandum of Agreed Cooperation, extending the agreement for another three years.

Supported by TIQ and other agencies, this longstanding sister-state agreement between Queensland and Shanghai has encouraged closer ties in education, science, technology and the arts.

Ms Trad said that TIQ’s Shanghai office had played a key role in encouraging Chinese investment in Queensland projects.

‘When Trade and Investment Queensland opened its first trade office in China in 1996, Shanghai was an obvious choice,’ Ms Trad said.

‘Through that foundational office, we have welcomed a continuous stream of investment from Chinese companies in our state’s resource, transport, agribusiness and manufacturing sectors.

‘China has become one of our most important knowledge partners and a driver of our expanding tourism market.’

Ms Trad said new partnerships were continuing to flourish.

‘China Eastern Airlines is now flying directly from Shanghai to Brisbane, and Queensland tourism operators are joining Alipay, one of the world’s largest online payment platforms based in Shanghai,’ she said.

‘Queensland start-ups are undertaking incubator opportunities over there; Queensland health experts are training Shanghainese doctors and nurses, and the Queensland Ballet is bringing its production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the municipality in November.’

Queensland’s aged-care sector is also forging new partnerships in China, with the Queensland-based Australian Silver Industry Group consortium generating $8.6 million in export deals since its inception in March 2018.

TIQ has supported the consortium on a series of missions to Asian markets, including a Shanghai visit in May 2019, which resulted in a major deal for consortium member Bolton Clarke.

The Deputy Premier re-signed the sister-state agreement in Shanghai on 23 September as part of a three-day trade mission to China.

A number of Queensland’s corporate leaders also travelled to Shanghai to support the event, including CEOs and executives from the beef, mining, investment, education, arts and tourism sectors, supported by TIQ and Tourism and Events Queensland.

A Queensland Government reception featured a joint performance from the Queensland Youth Orchestra and the Shanghai Youth Philharmonic Orchestra to commemorate the 30-year anniversary.

China is Queensland’s largest export market, and growth in Asian markets is identified as a key trend in the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

A Japanese delegation interested in renewable energy toured some of Queensland’s most exciting green hydrogen projects on 5 September.

Thirteen delegation members from Japanese companies and universities visited the Redlands Research Facility in Cleveland.

The facility is using solar power to generate green hydrogen from sea water, with the only emissions being water.

The Redlands project is a joint initiative of Japan’s Sumitomo Electric Industries and The Queensland of University, who were introduced to each other by TIQ.

While at the facility, the delegates also viewed a presentation on the H2Xport project.

Funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and led by the Queensland University of Technology, H2Xport is researching cost-effective renewable hydrogen through materials, modelling and process innovation.

After visiting the Redlands facility, the delegation moved on to the Sir Samuel Griffith Building at Griffith University – a 2MWh hybrid renewable energy building with hydrogen power.

Speaking at a delegation breakfast hosted by Origin Energy, TIQ CEO Paul Martyn said hydrogen projects presented great opportunities in new energy and investment.

‘Renewable hydrogen presents exciting domestic and international opportunities, and we want Queensland to be at the forefront of renewable hydrogen production in Australia,’ Mr Martyn said.

‘Queensland’s pro-business environment, established infrastructure, export facilities, skilled workforce and abundant solar resources and land means we are well positioned to be the global partner of choice to meet international demand for hydrogen.

‘Our proximity to Asia also provides us with many wonderful opportunities and access to international markets.’

Queensland averages 300 days of sunshine each year, making it an ideal location to establish facilities to produce hydrogen from solar sources.

The Redlands facility has already produced hydrogen that was subsequently exported to Japan in a world-first trial in March 2019.

The Japanese delegation, which also visited Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, included representatives from:

• the University of Tokyo’s Research Centre for Advance Science and Technology
• Tokyo Gas
• Komatsu
• Chiyoda Corporation
• Sumitomo Corporation
• JXTG Energy Corporation
• Sumitomo Electric Corporation
• Actree Ltd.

Under the Queensland Climate Transition Strategy, the Queensland Government has committed to generating 50% of the state’s energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Renewables and biofuels are also identified as a growing export market in the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

Leading Taiwanese electronics company MiTAC recently signed agreements with Redlands and Logan councils to use their regions as testing sites for smart-cities technologies.

Redlands City will collaborate with MiTAC on mosquito monitoring and treatment using drones, and Logan City will trial innovative technologies for asset management.

TIQ played a major role in bringing MiTAC and the Queensland councils together.

The new agreements are a key outcome following the signing of an MOU between the Local Government Association of Queensland and the Global Organisation of Smart Cities (Go Smart) at the Taiwan Smart Cities Summit and Expo in March. TIQ Taiwan coordinated a 33-strong Queensland delegation to the summit, including 6 mayors and deputy mayors.

Further connections were developed at meetings facilitated by TIQ between MiTAC and several Queensland councils during the Asia Pacific Cities Summit and Mayors’ Forum in Brisbane in July.

The new agreements fall under the auspices of the Taipei City Government’s Go Smart initiative, which promotes exchanges and collaborative opportunities between governments and industry involved in smart cities strategies and projects.

The agreements were signed at the 33rd Joint Conference of the Australia-Taiwan Business Council and the Republic of China-Australia Business Council in Brisbane in August.

The annual conference, sponsored by TIQ and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, is a key platform for dialogue on trade and investment opportunities between Australian states and Taiwan.

During their visit to Brisbane for the conference, MiTAC also signed a third agreement with Aviation Australia for autonomous aerial vehicle curriculum licensing.

Attracting new investment to Queensland is a key goal of the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

If you’re interested in exploring the Taiwanese market, contact TIQ’s Taiwan office.

Queensland tourism is set for a major boost next year, with wharves at the Port of Cairns being upgraded to accommodate cruise ships of up to 300 metres.

The $20 million contract for construction work on the upgrade was awarded to Austral Construction Pty Ltd in August 2019.

This will be the third and final stage of the $127 million Cairns Shipping Development Project.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said it would secure new opportunities for Cairns, and create 2,700 jobs in industries such as tourism by 2031.

‘This is the final step and a major undertaking to ensure the Port of Cairns is ready to welcome thousands of visitors to our region,’ Mr Bailey said.

Cairns is considered the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, which attracts more than 2 million visitors and contributes more than $6 million to the Australian economy each year.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy said the upgrade would mean ‘more ships, more visitors, more tourism and business opportunities for the region’.

Upgrading wharves 1–6 will complement the work currently being done to deepen and widen the shipping channel at the port.

The current wharves are heritage listed, with most of the structure having been built more than 100 years ago.

A series of independent dolphin structures will be inset into wharves 1­–5, and a new concrete jetty will be constructed along the front of wharf 6 to replace a decayed timber wharf structure.

A portion of the old structure will be revealed and retained for heritage and interpretive purposes.

The design, developed by heritage and wharf design experts, has received all heritage approvals and is in keeping with the current heritage wharf sheds.

The work is expected to be completed by the end of April 2020.

Work is also underway on the $158 million Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, a mega terminal that will allow larger cruise ships to dock in Brisbane.

Tourism is identified as one of Queensland’s major services exports in Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

TIQ will work alongside other agencies to support regional businesses through the new Townsville Manufacturing Hub, which opened on 9 September.

The $10 million hub, located at the TAFE Queensland Bohle campus, is expected to help boost the region’s manufacturing productivity and innovation.

The hub is a Queensland Government initiative established to bring local businesses, governments, economic development agencies and educational institutions together and set a path for regional manufacturing growth.

Director of TIQ’s Regional Network Denise Kreymborg said TIQ would support potential exporters who used the hub.

‘Our Regional Action Plan will provide an opportunity for the hub to connect with TIQ and support our clients,’ Ms Kreymborg said.

‘We’re also planning to roll out export and investment workshops that will be promoted through the hub.

‘And we’ll provide hub clients with access to our export and investment support programs.’

The Queensland Government has similar hubs planned for Cairns and Rockhampton as part of its Queensland Advanced Manufacturing 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan.

Local businesses in all 3 regions will be able to drop into the hubs and access streamlined help and advice in areas such as:

• business development
• skills development and training
• advanced manufacturing.

The hubs are designed to help regional manufacturers maximise their potential and contribute even more to both local and Queensland economies.

Townsville businesses contributed $840 million to the Queensland economy in 2017–18.

Supporting Queensland exporters is a priority of the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

Queensland’s educational expertise will be shared with Japanese teachers after Study Queensland and the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education (TMBOE) signed a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) recently.

The MOU also commits Study Queensland and TMBOE to collaborating on a new initiative, Diverse Link Tokyo (DLT).

TMBOE Director Ms Akiko Mori visited Brisbane in late June to meet with 3 Queensland universities and attend the Queensland International Education and Training Summit.

While she was here, she met with Study Queensland representatives to sign the MOU.

Study Queensland Executive Director Shannon Willoughby said the MOU would generate opportunities for Queensland’s education professionals to export their world-class expertise.

‘Under the MOU, Queensland institutions will have the opportunity to co-design curriculum with TMBOE and deliver new teacher-training programs to Japanese educators,’ she said.

‘The agreement will also create opportunities to showcase our state’s expertise in the area of STEAM education, and I expect further collaborative projects between Queensland and Japanese students will emerge as a result of this partnership.’

The new DLT initiative is designed to nurture global talent for Society 5.0 – Japan’s blueprint for a ‘super-smart’ society – through science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and experiential leaning, using English as the medium for learning.

More than 5,300 students from Japan chose Queensland as a study destination in 2018.

International education is Queensland’s fastest growing services export, with around 135,000 international students injecting more than $5 billion into the state’s economy in 2018.

Along with tourism, it is identified as one of the state’s services export strengths in the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

Queensland’s small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have until 23 September to make submissions to a parliamentary inquiry exploring barriers facing Australian businesses that want to export to overseas markets or attract investment.

The Trade and Investment Growth Committee is interested to hear how the Australian Government is facilitating trade and investment – with a focus on new and rapidly growing areas of export – and what they can do better.

Queensland SMEs are encouraged to contribute their thoughts to the inquiry.

The committee is keen to:

• understand Australian businesses’ ambitions to grow via export and attracting investment
• identify local regulatory barriers to businesses realising their ambitions
• identify best-practice regulation that supports export and investment growth while protecting the national interest.

The committee is made up of 9 MPs drawn from both sides of federal politics.

The inquiry was announced on 31 July and will accept submissions until Monday 23 September.

A previous federal inquiry looked at how government can best help Australia’s SMEs take advantage of the export opportunities created by free trade agreements (FTAs).

It found that future FTAs should do more to address the trade barriers facing Australia’s SMEs, and made 10 recommendations to improve trade outcomes for smaller businesses.

Increasing Queensland’s share of national overseas exports and increasing foreign direct investment in Queensland are both goals of the Queensland Government’s Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

Queensland business groups and government agencies have until 19 September to apply for grants of up to $1.5 million to facilitate export opportunities under the Australian Government’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Export Hubs funding program.

The program provides grants to help industry bodies, government agencies and regional development committees establish and operate SME ‘export hubs’ (collaborative groups) across Australia.

The export hubs must support SMEs in one of the following priority sectors:

• advanced manufacturing
• cyber security
• food and agribusiness
• medical technologies and pharmaceuticals
• mining equipment, technology and services
• oil, gas and energy resources.

These sectors align with 6 Growth Centres funded by the Australian Government to drive national innovation, productivity and competitiveness.

The export hubs will be expected to collaborate with the relevant Growth Centre to support local SME development.

Grant amounts will range from $150,000 to $1.5 million. To be eligible, applicants must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• be an incorporated not-for-profit group, a local or state government body, or a Regional Development Australia committee
• have at least $300,000 in eligible expenditure
• be able to provide at least 50% of the project cost.

Export hubs can support SMEs of all kinds, including regional, remote and Indigenous businesses.

Expressions of interest (EOIs) for the grants close 5pm AEST Thursday 19 September.

Applicants shortlisted as a result of their EOI will then be invited to submit a full application.

For more information on funding programs available to support Queensland exporters, connect with TIQ.

Increasing Queensland exports is one of the targets of the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.

Queensland and Taiwan explored opportunities for partnerships in innovation and new energy when delegates got together at the 33rd Joint Conference of the Australia-Taiwan Business Council and the Republic of China-Australia Business Council in Brisbane in August.

The annual conference, sponsored by TIQ and the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, is a key platform for dialogue on trade and investment opportunities between Australian states and Taiwan and China.

This year’s program included more than 30 presenters and contributors across a range of sectors, including biomedicine, innovation, energy and resources, and financial services.

TIQ’s Taiwan team secured several speaking slots at the conference for Queensland representatives, including a forum devoted to shared interests between the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022 and Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy.

Queensland Trade and Investment Commissioner for Taiwan Patrick Hafenstein said the conference had taken the already strong relationship between Queensland and Taiwan in exciting new directions.

‘It was a great opportunity for senior business leaders across industries to share their experiences, opportunities and insights on how we can strengthen the Queensland-Taiwan relationship,’ Mr Hafenstein said.

‘Queensland already has one of the strongest relationships with Taiwan of any Australian state, leading in business partnerships with Taiwan across areas such as resources, tourism, international education, agriculture, migration and investment.

‘And we’re now forging new partnerships across innovation and new energy.’

Mr Hafenstein and Senior Business Development Manager Chris Lin travelled from TIQ Taipei to attend the conference and coordinate a program of meetings between the Taiwanese delegates and Queensland leaders in drones, smart cities, robotics research and innovation.

The program included visits to:

• Queensland University of Technology and CSIRO’s Data61 to explore research collaborations
• River City Labs and Fishburners to understand Queensland’s start-up ecosystem
• TIQ and other Queensland Government agencies to discuss investment opportunities.

During the conference, TIQ Chair Steve Bredhauer also delivered a speech, highlighting recent successful partnerships between Taiwan and Queensland in agriculture, health and innovation.

Mr Bredhauer also talked about opportunities to further strengthen commercial engagement.

The conference ran from 29 to 31 August at the Queensland Art Gallery – Gallery of Modern Art, and was attended by around 200 local, national and overseas delegates.

Showcasing Queensland to world markets and increasing investment outcomes are both priorities of the Queensland Trade and Investment Strategy 2017–2022.