Australia Agriculture Correspondent, Canberra

Reuters is looking for a proactive and ambitious reporter to cover Australia’s agricultural sector and deliver an initiative-led file spanning diplomacy, international trade, climate change and the future-proofing of industrial farming in the 21st century. Australia is a major exporter of beef, wheat, barley, sugar, cotton, sorghum, oats, almonds and other commodities, and it has a substantial freight advantage over suppliers in the Americas and Western Europe in serving the world’s largest and fastest growing markets in Asia. But with the country embroiled in a trade spat with China, a major and inefficient rerouting of several commodity supply lines is underway as exporters scramble to replace that single mammoth buyer with dozens of smaller and farther-flung alternatives. 
The Australia Agriculture Correspondent’s reporting will also show the impact of climate change on the agricultural sector. Within the past decade, the country has suffered major droughts, horrendous bushfires and widespread flooding that have curbed or damaged large-scale rural investments and undermined lender confidence in the long-term viability of the Australian farm sector. Based in our office in Parliament House in Canberra, the successful candidate will also be the face of Reuters for politicians, industry bodies and government departments in the capital, will cover major government announcements on a range of issues, and will work with a team of specialist beat reporters across the Australian bureau.