A GROWING connection with the United States helped fuel South Australia’s highest-ever export result, with meat and wheat contributing to the record $17.5b.

Local export growth increased by 28 per cent in the 12 months to April 2023, the second-largest growth in any state or territory, behind only New South Wales.

The previous record, set in the year ending March this year, was $17.2b.

As SA’s second-biggest destination market, exports to the US were up 25 per cent to $1.52b over the 12-month period, leading to a boost – 7.5 per cent, up from 7.1 per cent – in the state’s market share of national exports to the US.

South Australian products in demand in the US include sheep meat ($295.5m export value) and wine ($178.2m).

Globally, wheat also drove record high exports, up 77 per cent to $2.8b.

The ABS data results come at the end of Minister for Trade and Investment, Nick Champion’s, visit to the US – during which the opening of a new trade office in Washington DC was announced, seeking to deepen ties with the US and South Australia across a range of important sectors for the state.

“As our alliance with the United States grows, so too do our trade opportunities,” Mr Champion said.

“We will keep building this vital connection to support local jobs and industries, now and into the future as the historic AUKUS agreement takes shape.

“This record-breaking result is made possible through our state’s world-class industries, led by hardworking South Australian farmers, miners and businesses.

“Their efforts fuel our global reputation as a producer of premium, quality products that are increasingly sought after all over the world.

“These results underpin the esteem in which Australia is held in the US and having met with both the public and private sector throughout the recent trade mission, South Australians can look to the US and be confident in the opportunities that exist for the expansion of their business.”