Vietnam trade links strengthen

AUSTRALIA and Vietnam have announced a Memorandum of Understanding on Agriculture and Sustainable Development that will enable further cooperation across a range of areas including agricultural policy, sustainable fisheries and forestry management, biosecurity, food safety, and trade.  

Vietnam is Australia’s eighth largest market for agriculture, fisheries and forestry commodities, with Australian exports to Vietnam worth $2.6 billion in 2025.  

The visit also saw significant progress on Australia’s long-standing request to reinstate market access for Australian kangaroo and deer meat, which has involved considerable efforts by the Australian Government, industry and Vietnamese authorities over the past nine years. Exports up

Exports growing

THE Australian Bureau of Statistics’ June 2026 trade data shows Tasmania’s annual exports are up 9.6 per cent year on year.

​This growth is more than double the national average of 4.1 per cent.

​In dollar terms, this represents a $443 million increase in the value of Tasmanian goods exports compared to the prior 12 months taking the State’s annual trade value to more than $5 billion.

“Recent trade missions to Thailand and Japan are already delivering tangible outcomes.

Small Business, Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Guy Barnett,said the quality of the produce that comes out of Tasmania is world-leading and years of hard work has driven this sustained growth in our export value.

Farm fixers

Rural Youth’s search for Tasmania’s Young Farmer of the Year comes down to 10 finalists at Quercus Park on Saturday. The competition begins at 8.30am and subjects contestants to practical challenges intended to test the rather alarming range of skills now apparently required of a modern farmer.

Presumably “fix something with fencing wire while simultaneously answering the bank manager’s phone call and checking the weather radar” remains reserved for the advanced division. The public is welcome to watch.

Who owns what?

Tasfarmers is seeking a review of the Tasmanian legislation governing land co-ownership to ensure farming families and majority landholders are properly protected

The Partition Act 1869 allows a minority co-owner to apply for jointly owned land to be divided or sold, even where the majority owner does not support the sale.

TasFarmers CEO Nathan Calman said the legislation should be reviewed to ensure it fairly balances the rights of all co-owners and reflects modern property ownership and farm succession arrangements.

“We know of one such case where a local farming family faced losing control of its property after a minority ownership stake was sold to an outside party, which then sought the sale of the entire farm.”