An interview with Kristen Mulligan conducted by Faye Veloso
Intern Researcher from Macquarie University Kristen Mulligan is in her final year studying for a Bachelor of International Studies at Macquarie University. Miss Mulligan commenced a major research paper for the Export Council of Australia comparing the export support programs in Australia versus the export support programs in Australia’s most competitive markets for international trade. Since the beginning of her project Miss Mulligan has dedicated herself to pursuing a comprehensive report that will analyse Australia’s trade support programs as they stand against other international programs. The interview below highlights the issues addressed through her research.
1.The focus of your research paper addresses Australia’s competitiveness in the international trade and the area of focus is on support. What is Australia’s current export support system?
Well, the Australian export support system is quite complicated due to federal, state, local laws and peak industry bodies such as the ECA (Export Council of Australia) and other relevant stakeholders that also influence the affairs and representation of exporters. So this research will mainly focus on federal support programs, primarily delivered by the federal trade agencies Austrade and EFIC.
So far, Austrade has several programs and initiatives that are run to support exporters:
• TradeStart: focuses on new and emerging exporters which assist in capacity building and export readiness. This program is a cost recovery system that is contracted to advisors in the private and public organization; it is an effective system as there is an incentive for TradeStart professionals to have their clients successfully export.
• EMDG: There is also an export market development grant which provides funding for overseas marketing expenditure.
• Online: Austrade also has an online presence with an interactive website that gives access to market reports, country reports, statistics and information, up to date news and opportunities. A tailored service is also offered with a fee for a certain number of Austrade Assistance hours.
2. How does Australia compare to other countries and is it competitive for exporters?
Australia is competitive. However, we face challenges: as a large nation, a continent on its own with a small population, there will be logistical issues. Freight costs and transport is expensive, particularly for companies located in regional locations.
From the preliminary research undertaken, the best comparison to Australia has been Canada as it also has a British colonial history, with a similar governmental structure. Canada is relatively similar to Australia in terms of a large land mass with a relatively small population, similar logistical issues and more importantly a shared industry focus- mining, energy and now education.
So far, from the research, I have found that Canada’s trade commissioner service uses a very efficient online presence that offers valuable information for SME exporters and time/ resource poor companies. One such example is the virtual trade commissioner service, which is a personalized webpage with up to date information, news, statistics, market information and other opportunities relevant to the page holder. It is specific, highly centralized and a sophisticated system that has a great ability to reach a wide audience.
3. What have been the some of the more innovative programs you have discovered?
From the research conducted so far, I can gather that there is always something to be learnt from case studies. While I cannot provide a list of finite recommendations, I can perhaps highlight some of the most innovative programs I have researched so far:
• A personalized internet system such as the Canadian virtual trade commissioner would offer countless benefits to Australian exporters.
• The Canadian business development bank is a Government mandated bank which offers flexible repayments, to aid capacity building of Canadian businesses. It is not an export credit agency like EFIC. In Australia, there is no similar government mandated bank that offers flexible repayments and advice consultation for businesses. As a government mandated development bank they assist businesses to increase their capacity to produce, providing market information or assist businesses in purchasing specialized equipment or marketing expenses overseas with the view to leading companies to develop the capacity to expand and export.
• Another example that we can learn from is the marketing of Brand Brazil. ‘Brazil’ is a strong national brand with a coherent presence internationally under projects such as Talent Brazil and Taste Brazil in international trade fairs and industry marketing campaigns. Austrade has created the Australia Unlimited brand, which received a $20 million boost in 2010, a great marketing campaign which will hopefully build Australia as a successful national brand. Research has proven that the creation of a national brand makes for a better marketing campaign in the international market, a factor of success. With ongoing support, results should be favorable for Australian exporters.
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