Australia must maintain friendly relations with China if its agricultural exports are to double by 2030, the Australian reported on its website on October 14.

Australia's National Farmers Federation has reportedly unveiled an ambitious goal of almost doubling the value of agricultural exports to $100 billion by 2030. Australia's agricultural sector is recovering from a severe drought, but the country is engaged in a series of battles with its biggest trading partner.

Tim Hunt, general manager of food and agribusiness research at Rabobank, said China still has an important role to play in creating greater value for farmers, the report said.

For most of the past decade, the burgeoning Chinese middle class valued Australia's clean and green image, bringing wealth to many businesses, the report said.

"The bottom line is that for the last 10 years, the Chinese have been willing to pay a premium for our products because they recognize the quality of our products," Hunter said. "They accept and value products that are Australian in origin in a way that we have never had in the US and European markets," he said. They are willing to pay a higher price for Australian food than they have in any other market."

But relations between China and Australia have deteriorated this year, the report said. Canberra's push to investigate coVID-19, pass an anti-foreign interference law and introduce a foreign relations bill has provoked anger in China.

Mr. Hunt said a major challenge is to ensure that trade between the two countries continues and to develop new markets that bring greater value to Australian agriculture.