Australia plans for Asian 'dining boom' as food exports surge

Sydney

A FALLING currency and a dry spell in the United States have helped Australian food exports jump by a quarter to an annual A$26 billion (S$26.2 billion), an outcome likely to please policymakers eager to find signs of life in non-mining sectors.

Australia has entered its 25th year of uninterrupted growth, but its A$1.6 trillion economy has slowed as it shifts from exporting natural resources to other areas such as construction, manufacturing and tourism.

Now the talk is of a "dining boom" for Australian farmers as Asian consumers move up the food chain to mo…