Senior Australian forest and forest product industry leaders will visit Japan and China between 19-22 April to meet with industry and Government officials to promote stronger trade connections in China and Japan, including further exploring opportunities arising from the recently established free-trade agreements.
The Forest Industry Market Development Mission will be led by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Senator Richard Colbeck.
The delegation will begin in Japan with tours of timber building uses and Government and industry forums including discussing Japan’s ‘wood first policy’. Industry representatives will meet with regional peak bodies and companies involved in construction, innovative design and timber product use. In China, industry representatives will meet with Government officials to discuss trade and cooperation, along with the opportunity to meet key local timber industry groups.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), Mr Ross Hampton will also be addressing a dinner function for the Australian industry delegation and their Japanese counterparts with a message of the long productive history Australia and Japan share, not only as longterm, directly invested trading partners, but also our mutual history of working with, and appreciating, renewable timber and forest products.
Mr Hampton said, “The Asia Pacific region is experiencing a massive increase in fibre demand, creating huge potential for our forest and forest product industries. The mission is providing our industry with some exciting opportunities in both Japan and China on an official government level, as well as industry level. This is a chance to promote commercial opportunities for the Australian forest products industry.”
“The latest data from ABARES has revealed that Australia still has a large trade deficit in forest industry products with $4.6 billion of imports dwarfing our $2.5 billion of exports. We need to do all we can to support the growth of Australian industry, jobs and trade,” said Mr Hampton.
19.04.2015 Taking Aussie Forest Industries to the world’s fastest growing region