Trade missions

Our successful trade mission programs play an important role in supporting your business to expand its potential with international markets, by providing key opportunities to:

• build international connections, foster business relationships and identify partnering opportunities
• enhance your international profile by entering new markets
• attract foreign investment
• secure local distributors and/or importers
• acquire international orders for your product and/or service
• develop skills and knowledge of international markets to enhance your business's global competitiveness
• understand regulatory requirements in international markets.

Trade missions are typically sectorial focused and the Victorian Government develops tailored programs for participating businesses, supported in-market through an international network of Victorian Government Trade and Investment (VGTI) offices. Activities on trade missions include business briefings and networking functions, site visits, trade exhibitions and business matching.

Foodex March 2018

Outbound trade missions

Our outbound missions take Victorian businesses and organisations overseas to international markets, showcasing their business capabilities and connecting them with key international markets, buyers, trading partners and business leaders.

Inbound trade missions

Our inbound trade missions are part of the Victorian Government's broader trade agenda. Throughout the year, we welcome business leaders from around the world to Melbourne and provide opportunities to learn about Victoria's business capabilities and build the foundations for new trade and investment partnerships.

Delivering results for Victorian businesses

An independent evaluation by Swinburne University published in 2017 demonstrated the benefits of trade missions, with participating businesses becoming more globally connected, and increasing their exports.

The evaluation showed that trade mission participants:

• increased their export sales by an average of 219 per cent within 12 months, and 345 per cent within 24 months
• had total export sales of A$809, 662, one year before participation. One year after the mission, each business had export sales of around A$1.8 million, growing to A$2.8 million just two years after the mission
• who were not exporters in the year before attending a trade mission increased the probability of becoming an exporter by 26 per cent within 24 months, which is around a 70 per cent increase.