Aussie services firms urged to export
Aussie services firms urged to export
Oct 25, 2004: The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) is urging local professional service providers to get into exports to take advantage of the current worldwide boom in professional services.
With services now accounting for approximately two-thirds of the developed world’s economic activity, enormous export opportunities exist, said Lloyd Downey, Austrade's global team leader for service exports.
"Austrade has recognised the need to increase awareness in Australia’s professional services sector of their potential to tap into opportunities as a result of continued exceptionally strong growth in service exports.
“International trade in services has risen over the past two decades from 18 percent of world trade to 23 percent. The global market for services is the fastest growing sector of world trade. In the majority of countries the contribution of services to GDP is well over 50 percent and in Australia’s case, it is 76 percent of GDP.
“Despite ready recognition of Australian expertise in the services sector in overseas markets, many Australian businesses have not fully recognised or exploited this advantage. It’s important for businesses in our professional services sector to understand that they are very competitive in the global market place. Australia is held in high regard for the quality of its services and highly skilled, professional workforce,” said Downey.
Austrade assisted over 800 service companies to make overseas sales in the last year, with some 220 of them being first-time exporters.
“If you have a quality service that’s popular in Australia, there may well be opportunities for you to grow your business by offering that service to customers in markets overseas,” added Downey.
He continued: “Many of the traditional barriers to trade have been lowered and through the advent of technologies such as the Internet, the distance and difficulty of doing business in different geographical locations has been greatly reduced.
“For many people, the word “exporting” conjures up images of container ships packed with physical goods, heading off to some distant shore - but there are ways to export something that’s intangible. A few export channels to consider include selling services direct to a buyer in an overseas market, having an overseas “buyer” visit Australia to receive or use services, appoint a representative or establish an office in an overseas market or members of staff can travel overseas to provide the service."
Professional service providers may qualify for financial assistance through Austrade’s Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme, Australia’s principal financial assistance scheme for exporters. These grants are awarded with a specific objective in mind, to develop export businesses that are viable over the long-term. For new exporters, Austrade has available free services and advice through its New Exporter Development Program (NEDP).
Austrade has also introduced a free guide titled “From Contacts to Contracts". To obtain a free copy, phone 1800 200 202.
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