A high level delegation from South Australian businesses and government will visit Japan this week for a series of business and trade meetings.
It follows a recent visit of 20 business delegates from the Okayama Prefecture in Japan to Adelaide and is part of a delegation to North Asia led by Minister for Investment and Trade Martin Hamilton-Smith.
The mission focus includes premium food and wine, agribusiness, health, defence, aviation and
aerospace, advanced manufacturing and technology and investment. When in Tokyo today, the
Minister and DefenceSA representatives will meet h Japanese space companies.
The meetings aim to: develop the space sector in South Australia by forming collaborative partnerships with leading global space players, a key pillar of the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy: Action Plan 2016-2020 (the Space Strategy), and promote the 68th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, 25-29 September 2017.
The Minister will meet with Vice President Mr Yuichi Yamaura and other high level executives from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and later, with senior officials from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) – Integrated Defense & Space Systems business domain.
A number of trade agreements secured prior to the Japan leg of the visit include:
- Nut Processors Australia will send a test order of South Australian almonds to a high end confectionery manufacturer
- Blue Lake Milling will supply rolled oats to a major cereal manufacturer
- Kangaroo Island Pure Grain will process 4000 mega-tonnes of non-genetically modified canola seed into Kangaroo Island-branded canola oil and mayonnaise for the high end Japanese retailer PAL System
- Kangaroo Island Wool has new orders to continue the supply of wool to major fashion brand United Arrows for production into Kangaroo Island Wool-branded men’s suits.
Background
Japan is South Australia’s fifth biggest export market, with commodities from South Australia to Japan worth more than AUD$536 million in the last financial year.
The top commodities from South Australia to Japan in 2015-16 were seafood, fresh meat, oil seeds, fruits and nuts, petrochemical products, beverages and copper.