TRADE MATTERS 2012 Queensland – state trade with the world

Queensland is Australia's top coal exporter. The state has world-class expertise in mining operations and related services and technologies. Queensland's highquality and significant coal reserves have attracted the interest of a number of international investors. Queensland is a world-class tourist destination with strength across a range of industries, including food and agriculture, and education and training.

About Queensland

Queensland's goods and services exports were valued at $60 billion in 2011, growing on average 7 per cent every year for the last five years. Key exports for Queensland in 2011 were coal, recreational travel, beef and education-related travel. The state accounted for 20 per cent of Australia's total exports in 2011.

2010-11 economic indicators

• Estimated resident population (September 2011): 4,599,362
• Real Gross State Product growth (%): 0.2
• Proportion of Australian GDP (%): 19

Why Queensland trades

• Trade gives Queenslanders the chance to choose from a wide range of competitively priced goods and services from around the world.
• Both exports and imports create jobs. One in five Australian jobs is directly related to trade.
• Queensland's exports are equal to 21.8 per cent of Gross State Product, building wealth and prosperity.
• Foreign investment plays an important role in the Queensland's economic development and provides capital to fund business expansion.

How the Australian Government encourages Queensland's trade

The Australian Government is helping Queensland exporters to become even more competitive by further reforming the domestic economy. The Government is investing in skills, education, the National Broadband Network and other infrastructure, as well as engaging in tax reform and cutting regulatory red tape.

The Government is also working to increase market access and improve conditions for exporters overseas by advancing multilateral trade liberalisation through the World Trade Organization, facilitating greater regional trade, and removing bilateral trade barriers.

Queensland and Australia's FTAs

• Australia is the world's third largest exporter of cotton, and almost half of this is exported from Queensland. Under the ASEAN-Australia- New Zealand FTA, a number of major Southeast Asian markets, including Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, have agreed to bind tariffs on cotton at zero, locking in tariff-free access for Queensland's cotton growers.
• Queensland's grain farmers enjoy secure access to the growing Thai market under the Thailand-Australia FTA, creating opportunities to increase exports.
• Of Queensland's top 10 merchandise trading partners, four (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United States) are covered by existing FTA arrangements, while another four (Japan, China, India and South Korea) are currently in FTA negotiations with Australia.

Information and contacts

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Advancing Australia's interests overseas
www.dfat.gov.au/trade

DFAT state office contact details
www.dfat.gov.au/brisbane
07 3405 4799

State government contact
www.export.qld.gov.au

Austrade
Information for new and existing exporters
www.austrade.gov.au
13 28 78

Australia's Free Trade Agreements
www.fta.gov.au