The latest Rabobank report confirms what the Hodgman Liberal Government has long known; agriculture is one of Tasmania’s greatest competitive strengths.
Agriculture employs more than 7,000 Tasmanians and is valued at about $1.2 billion at the farm-gate.
We have a plan to grow the annual farm-gate value of production in the state tenfold to $10 billion per year by 2050.
There have been some extraordinary opportunities in Tasmanian agriculture in the past 12 months and we’re working hard to seize every one of them.
The landscape of agriculture in Tasmania is being transformed by the Federal Government’s $60 million investment in irrigation, together with $30 million from the State Government and $27 million in private sector investment in the five Tranche 2 schemes.
The Australia-China Free Trade Agreement will unlock further opportunities for our primary producers by ensuring our products are competitive in the Chinese marketplace.
Already the growth in China’s demand for Tasmanian produce, particularly dairy, is exponential. There is strong demand for our fresh, premium and safe produce, which is providing unprecedented opportunities for Tasmanian farmers.
Over the next four years the FTA will see a further transformation in the attractiveness of Tasmanian exports into the Chinese market.
Adding to this are the opportunities from Tasmania’s strengthened relationship with our largest trading partner China, which are yet to be truly realised.
There’s no doubt that the President’s visit to our state last year and the Premier’s recent trade and investment mission to China will have an enormous positive outcome in increasing trade and investment between our two countries.
The Liberal Government is ready to back our agriculture industry and seize every opportunity because we understand that a strong agriculture sector will strengthen our regional communities and create hundreds of new jobs on farms and in our country towns.
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Primary Industries and Water
