Booming med-tech and pharmaceutical sales have helped propel the value of Victoria’s exports to an all-time high of $57.7 billion, up 10 per cent in a year, as local companies last night won big at the Australian Export Awards.

Victorian companies took top honours in four of the 13 Australian Export Award categories:

• Swisse Wellness (Melbourne) – E-commerce
• Leica Biosystems (Mt Waverley) – International Health
• Marand Precision Engineering (Moorabbin) – Manufacturing and Advanced Materials
• Care Essentials (Geelong North) – Regional Exporter.

Victoria is home to more than 13,000 goods exporters and has the largest share of Australia’s agriculture, forestry and fishing and manufacturing exporters.

Goods exports were valued at $31.1 billion last financial year, boosted by the medical technology and pharmaceutical sector which has seen sales to international markets by companies such as Leica Biosystems balloon by 600 per cent, from $260 million to $1.95 billion, in just three years.

Exports of fruit and nuts also performed well, growing by 43 per cent to $1.4 billion and helped by the removal of tariffs under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

China remains the top destination for Victorian goods exports but major developed economies such as the United States, Japan and Germany provided the strongest 12-month growth, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Services exports, which were valued at $26.5 billion, now account for 46 per cent of Victoria’s total exports thanks to soaring numbers from international education and tourism, valued at $11.8 billion and $5.4 billion respectively.

Through Global Victoria, the Andrews Labor Government provides support for local companies to reach and compete in international markets through specialised training programs, trade missions and online resources.

Businesses can use Go Global, the agency’s online tool for assessing export readiness, at global.vic.gov.au/go-global.