A shopper walks past cartons of shelf-stable milk from Australian dairy Devondale at a supermarket in Beijing, May 12, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

CANBERRA - A surge in trade with China has helped drive South Australian exports to a record high.

Data published by the state government on Friday revealed that the value of South Australia's exports hit AU$17.9 billion ($12 billion) in the year to the end of November 2023 - an increase of 12 percent from the previous year and a record-high figure for a 12-month period.

China was the state's largest export market in the 12-month period, with the value of exports to China from South Australia hitting AU$3.2 billion ($2.14 billion) 

China was the state's largest export market in the 12-month period, with the value of exports to China from South Australia hitting AU$3.2 billion ($2.14 billion) - 17.8 percent of the total figure - marking a 46 percent increase from AU$ 2.19 billion ($1.46 billion) in the 12 months to the end of November 2022.

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South Australian barley exports to China in the year to November 2023 were worth AU$ 218 million ($146.1 million), government data revealed, up from AU$ 111 million ($74.4 million) in the year to October 2023.