The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland said overall, exports from the state were up 6 per cent but in the case where Australia has a free trade deals in place, exports were strong.

Diversification of exports was also showing up in the data, according to CCIQ’s international trade and relationships manager Diana Gueorguieva.

“Queensland exporters successfully diversified their export markets and products which is a testament to their resilience and determination not only to deal with the ongoing export challenges but to make their business successful internationally,” she said.

Queensland exported to 129 countries in the financial year and more than 70 per cent of the goods sold overseas were agribusiness, while manufacturing, energy and resources represented 30 per cent.

Beef represented 30 per cent of all exports, but food and beverage exports jumped 149 per cent while grains, fresh produce and other meat exports were up by between 8 per cent and 21 per cent.

Gueorguieva said free trade agreements meant Australian businesses had access to additional business opportunities, tariff reductions, access to regional value chains, and in the case of the most recent Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) – it meant simplified administration under a single set of rules and procedures for accessing preferential tariffs across a whole region.” 

The world’s largest free trade agreement, the RCEP, came into force on January 1 for 10 of the 15 country signatories- Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam followed by Republic of Korea on February 1 and Malaysia on March 18. For Indonesia, Myanmar and Philippines, RCEP will enter into force once the ratification processes are concluded.