As the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement nears its one-year anniversary, leaders from both countries are already celebrating its success.

The officials say the FTA has created trade and opportunities that are already benefiting businesses. Greg Navarro has more.

Inside a Melbourne warehouse, Danielle Di Pilla has reason to be proud.  “ We’re doing a couple of million bars a month now.”said Danielle Di Pilla, manager of DPP Pharmaceuticals.

A couple of million bars of soap made with goat’s milk - that’s riding an increasing wave of demand in China.
 
“ For us the biggest challenge is trying to keep up with the supply, we’ve doubled our manufacturing, doubled everything in trying to keep up with the demand.”Danielle Di Pilla said.

Not bad for the pharmacist and entrepreneur whose success was born from a problem she wanted to solve.

“26 Customers coming into the store with dry and itchy skin conditions and looking for products to be able to treat those conditions and I wasn’t really satisfied with what was available.”Danielle Di Pilla said.

Her solution was to create a line of goat’s milk health-based products in 2011.Earlier this month during China’s online shopping festival, Di Pilla sold a million AUD worth of products through the Chemist Warehouse Tmall Global website - in just 24 hours.

“I guess for a small Australian family business like ours we wouldn’t even know where to start to get your product into China so the e-commerce platforms like Tmall Global have really allowed small companies like ours to enter China relatively quickly and for relatively small costs as well.”Danielle Di Pilla said.

Success stories like Di Pilla’s were celebrated this week in Melbourne…at an event to mark the upcoming one year anniversary of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

“ CHAFTA as we see it is a comprehensive, high quality free trade agreement of balanced interests for both countries.” said Cheng Jingye,Chinese ambassador to Australia.

The agreement, which took effect in 2016, is aimed at gradually reducing tariffs and other barriers, to increase trade between the two countries.

“ What has been achieved with CHAFTA is a great step forward and the world is a much better place because of such agreements.”said Andrew Robb, former Australian trade minister.

Less than a year into the agreement, it’s difficult to quantify the actual economic benefits to Australia, but economists will tell you perhaps the biggest bonus at this point is the focus it puts on trade.
 
“I think it is a head turning effect, I think it is a signal that this country is a good trading partner of ours and I think that is as important as the reductions in tariffs that you see.” UNSW economist prof. Tim Harcourt said.

Danielle Di Pilla agrees.

“The attention that it drew definitely helps drive the sale.”Danielle Di Pilla said.

Which helps to explain why just 11-months into the long term trade agreement, officials from both countries see reason to celebrate.