Farm Fest 2012 in Toowoomba (Australia) and the Fieldays in Hamilton (New Zealand) are crucial agriculture shows, essential both for agricultural machinery and maintenance & services. They will be held from June 5 to 15. The agricultural sector is characterized in Australia by the predominance of grain crops, cotton, horticulture, cattle and sheep. The market represents over 140,000 farms; 32,5 Md EUR of Australian agricultural products are exported per year. Farmers appreciate the quality of French agricultural equipment. The New Zealand agricultural sector is characterized by the dominance of the dairy industry, cattle and sheep industry, horticulture and arboriculture. The agricultural sector contributes 7% to the GDP and 91% of agricultural products are exported. The market for agricultural equipment relies on foreign expertise and the quality of French know-how is highly regarded. With more than 3,500 exhibitors and 215,000 visitors expected, these events are the ideal platform to promote your business. UBIFRANCE  offers French companies participating to these Business & Trade Agriculture Fairs: - UbiFrance’s expertise and their personalized support during the 10 days events. - Seminars  held by field specialists for a  better understanding of  the growth sectors in a changing market. - The experience of local professionals, directly involved in changing the landscape of Australian and New Zealand agriculture. - Market opportunities discussion and practical and essential information during focused business meetings.  For more information, please contact us! Diane NAGGAR, Senior trade advisor, UbiFrance Sydney,  diane.naggar@ubifrance.fr Bérangère ESCANDE, trade advisor, UbiFrance Sydney, berangere.escande@ubifrance.fr

38 French farmers from all different regions of France applied for a tour organized by the agricultural French magazine “Réussir”. They’ve come to visit and see how Australia’s agribusiness operates (being a member of the Cairns group)  and understand the international impact of its agriculture and its specific issues and successes. They were greeted to their first “cuppa” (cup of tea) at the Grace Hotel and sat down to a presentation on the agriculture of Australia by Diane Naggar, Senior Trade Adviser at the French Trade Commission Ubifrance in Australia. Despite the fact they had arrived the night before, there were no signs of jetlag and the audience was showing many signs of wonder and interest. They were given key & up-to-date figures, trends and issues that farmers in different parts of this huge continent face on a daily basis, the challenges posed by climatic extremes and the logistics headaches they have to solve. Their main questions concerned the ability of farmers to survive without or with such insignificant government allowances (4% of subsidies in most cases). They were amazed by the success stories despite the drastic droughts and dramatic floods that farmers are dealing with. They also asked quite a few questions about the quarantine restrictions on food products, particularly on raw milk. An hour and a half later, they boarded their bus that would take them from Cowra to Mareeba, visiting vineyards, a sheep farm, beef feedlots, potatoes growers, cane sugar and peanuts farms and a dairy farm. Bon voyage!