South Australia keen to collaborate with food and agriculture sector

South Australia is looking to collaborate with Thailand on enhancing the food and agriculture industries, its governor Frances Adamson said during her visit to Bangkok last week.

Adamson, who was in the Thai capital from July 8 to 11, told Nation Group’s Krungthep Turakij that South Australia is paying attention to Thailand as its fifth export market following China, the US, India and Malaysia.

She said the visit was also part of Canberra’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy 2040, which comprises actions in four categories to realise the commercial potential between Australia and Southeast Asia, namely raising awareness, removing blockages, building capacity and deepening investment.

“My focus is not only the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy 2040, but also Ignite Thailand because there are common interests on which we can work together,” she said.

The Ignite Thailand scheme was announced by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in February and laid out ambitious plans for making the country hubs for tourism, medical treatment, food, aviation, logistics, electric vehicles, digital economy and finance.

Adamson said she is paying attention to the food and agriculture industries, an area in which South Australia is offering high-quality products to Thailand.

She said South Australia is ready to support Thailand in exporting instant noodles and help its bakery sector through high-quality grains with a production capacity of 8 million tons, such as wheat, barley and beans.

Despite being a barren state, South Australia boasts water management and precision farming techniques to boost crop yield, and is also home to researchers who have been developing crop species for a long time, she said.

Acknowledging the needs of the Thai agriculture sector, she added that she had talked with several Thai entrepreneurs who are interested in Australia and South Australia’s agricultural technology.

She confirmed that South Australian companies can help the Thai agriculture sector in adopting precision farming to boost crop yield, reduce fertiliser use and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

“When I travel abroad as state governor, one thing that I want to do is listen to partners’ demands,” she said.

Adamson went on to say that South Australia is among the world leaders in using renewable energy to produce electricity, especially solar and wind power.

She said state renewable energy consumption now accounts for 74 per cent of total energy consumption and that the government aims to boost consumption to 100 per cent by 2027.

South Australia has many big hydrogen projects, such as investment in a 250-megawatt electrolyser for generating hydrogen from electricity, she said, adding that the state can share its experience in launching environment-related laws with its partners.

Despite a slowdown in Thai GDP, Adamson believes in the country’s strong potential and the government’s efforts to stimulate the economy. “As our fifth export market, we have confidence in Thai economic growth,” she added.