Trade

Australia’s combined agriculture, fisheries and forestry production is on track to reach a record-breaking $106.4 billion in 2025–26, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) December quarter reports.

With ongoing increases in cattle slaughter and high carcass weights, Australia’s 2025 beef production is set to break new ground with record volumes, according to a new report by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank. Beef exports though are also up for the year – and will potentially also reach record levels – well and truly accommodating the increased supply.

Enough structural timber is expected to be available to build Australian homes until at least 2050, according to an ABARES Insights paper.

The Albanese Government has signed a landmark tax treaty with Croatia – the first ever between our two nations – marking a major step forward in our growing bilateral relationship. Once in force, the agreement will make it easier for Australian and Croatian businesses to trade, invest and innovate together.

On National Agriculture Day, the Albanese Labor Government acknowledges and celebrates the incredible success of Australia’s world-class farmers and producers as the industry heads towards a record-breaking year. Australia's agriculture, fisheries and forestry production is forecast to reach a record value of more than $100 billion this financial year.  

The global agricultural landscape has entered a new phase where geopolitics – not only traditional market forces – will dictate trade flows, prices, and production decisions, according to Rabobank’s Agri Commodity Outlook 2026. The report describes a world increasingly divided between two spheres of influence – the United States and China – where agricultural commodity exports have become "pawns on a geopolitical chessboard."

The Bendigo Bank Agribusiness Monthly Commodity Update for November contains several positive findings and a major milestone as the year draws to a close. Australian cattle exports reached the second highest monthly volume on record, the third-largest winter grain crop is waiting in the wings and there’s good news for consumers in the run-up to Christmas...

Caitlin Menadue. Gold Hydrogen has started drilling a new well, Ramsay 3, on farmland east of Minlaton in search of natural hydrogen ... Last week, the Ramsay 3 site hosted over 30 Japanese investors and officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security, and industry representatives from Iwatani Corporation, Tokyo Gas, Eneos Xplorer, Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Is there life after the ban on live sheep exports? Bindi Murray joins us from Sheep Producers Australia with some good news! Plus we catch up with local legend Mat Dunn from Beacon who is in Harvest for an update and all of your local weather with Jessica Lingard from the Bureau (of Meteorology).

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has joined industry colleagues and Australian Government officials on a week-long mission to strengthen ties with key South-East Asian partners. NFF Interim Chief Executive Su McCluskey is taking part in the Food Security Mission to Indonesia and Brunei, led by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) this week.

Testimony to the potential presented by Southeast Asia is the steady progress of innovative Australia agtech company Bygen, both domestically and in the region, in this case Vietnam. Bygen is a Melbourne-based manufacturer producing granular and powdered activated carbon products. ARR.News found out more from Cameron Griffiths, Bygen CCO.

Australia's export-oriented crocodile industry depends on public opinion in foreign countries and the actions of legislators in those countries. This is the industry's primary problem. Two secondary problems arise from this. Australia's crocodile industry has too little economic potential, and lobbying regulations in Australia are too imperfect for Australian farmers to quickly follow global trends.

Pakistan has approved market access for Genetically Modified (GM) canola from Australia. Australia is a trusted and reliable supplier of canola to Pakistan, with non-GM canola exports valued at $506 million in the last financial year – making Pakistan one of Australia’s top markets for canola. 

...The new Hanoi office joins Queensland’s existing base in Ho Chi Minh City, making Queensland the first Australian state with a dual-city presence in Vietnam.  Vietnam is now Queensland’s largest export market in Southeast Asia and sixth globally, with beef exports alone up 29 per cent last year. 

Global beef trade is poised for growth over the next five years, driven by increasing demand from Asia and export expansions by South American countries, according to a new report by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank.

Confidence in Australia’s farming sector has lifted, as the nation’s farmers hang their hopes on continuing strong commodity prices – particularly in livestock sectors – and better seasonal conditions in a number of regions, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has found.

Australia is forecast to harvest a larger winter grain crop this year, with Rabobank estimating total volumes to reach 62.8 million tonnes in its just-released annual 2025/26 Australian Winter Crop Forecast.

Whether the risks posed by imports from Australia's trading partners are being sufficiently assessed and addressed, whether we really need to or should import certain products at all, and whether Australia is becoming complacent, resigned, or courting disaster for political Brownie points - such questions are being asked more often. ... This last week, Australia's biosecurity around beef and banana imports was called into question by David Littleproud, Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister. ARR.News sought a response from Julie Collins, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry ...

On a cotton farm near Emerald in central Queensland, something unusual is taking root. Among the cotton, mung beans and peanuts that typically fill the rotation, a small but mighty crop is showing its potential to change the face of Australian agriculture: sesame.

The Australia-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force on 1 October. CEPA is Australia’s first free trade agreement in the Middle East and first trade agreement with a dedicated chapter covering First Nations trade.

The Albanese Labor Government is delivering new opportunities for Australia’s blueberry producers with a new agreement securing market access to export the fruit to Vietnam, with trade expected to be worth approximately $22 million over 5 years. The agreement, which came into effect this week, is another major win for Australian producers and will also create access to Vietnamese pomelos for Australian consumers.

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said Labor has no plan or explanation why farmers applying for Labor’s assistance grant will be forced to find up to $75,000 of their own money as a co-contribution before Christmas, in order to obtain financial help.