Australia funding projects to enhance trade & market access for farmers
Mr Joyce says the Coalition had invested $2.1 million into the Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) program for 16 projects.
“It provides funding for projects that help to open, improve and maintain access to markets for Australian agricultural products by building stronger relationships with trading partners, neighbouring countries and international organisations,” he said.
A statement from Mr Joyce said the ATMAC program was also supporting a project to reduce compliance costs for the export of fresh Australian horticultural products, like citrus, table grapes and stone fruit, to capitalise on the Asian market, worth $1.7b to Australia’s horticultural industry in 2015-16.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries had received a grant for its research into Australian finger limes.
“Currently, fresh Australian finger limes cannot be exported to markets such as Japan due to concerns over fruit fly,” he said.
“Scientific evidence suggests that finger limes are not a fruit fly host and the project aims to support this claim.
source: queenslandcountrylife.com.au
