Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Sterle for his supplementary question. The growth of the middle class in Asia presents unparalleled opportunities for the Australian food industry. Take, for example, beef. Top restaurants in Shanghai advertise Australian beef as a premium product. Australian beef products into China, to give you one example, are forecast to rise to 60,000 tonnes in 2012-13. Eight years ago, that was only 5,000 tonnes. We want Australian food on more plates both here at home and around the world. To do that, we are investing in food businesses in Australia, strengthening our global brand and extending our reach into international markets. We are providing a $22-million grants program for food producers at home to improve new markets, technologies and biosecurity systems. (Time expired)