MELBOURNE, May 4: Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the country has the potential to become a Asian food superpower.
Speaking at an international summit organised here last night, Gillard said Australia needs to become a leader in the area of food production and said she wanted Australia to gain even more value from its “incredible network of Australians living and working in countries of the region”.
“Just as we have become a minerals and energy giant, Australia can be a great provider of reliable, high quality food to meet Asia’s growing needs.
In doing this, we are not just an exporter of commodities, but a partner in growing international markets and a provider of higher value products and services for the global food industry,” she said.
She also talked about the plans to develop new agricultural partnerships with China.
“It would involve building our food processing industry so that it can supply Asia’s growing consumer markets and developing the research, technologies and logistics that strengthen irrigation, grow higher yield crops and improve safety,” she said.
We also have an incredible network of Australians living and working in countries of the region.
As the internet and new digital technologies accelerate, we should be using them to gain even more value from this diaspora,” she added. (PTI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel