$11m in grants available to small exporters

More than $11 million in grants is up for grabs to improve market access for small exporters of dairy, meat, egg, fish, horticulture and grain products. The grants form part of the $15 million, four-year Package Assisting Small Exporters.

“Some of the projects this program could fund include things such as information workshops for exporters about arrangements they may wish to implement to meet importing country requirements to provide greater commercial opportunity for the sale of their products,” said Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce.

“Alternatively, grants may be used to develop strategies and niche products to meet the preferences of overseas markets or to fund research to develop new treatments or processing methods that reduce the cost of meeting importing country requirements.”

More than 600 small exporters have already received a rebate on their export registration charges as part of the Package Assisting Small Exporters, Minister Joyce says.

Applications for the grants close on 30 April 2015. Program guidelines, including selection criteria and application details, can be found at agriculture.gov.au/package-assisting-small-exporters.