The Australian government is going to launch its national blockchain strategy today on 7th Feb. 2020 after a year-long preparation. It’s almost a year since the country’s Ministry for Industry, Science and Technology, and Ministry for Trade, Tourism & Investment announced the national blockchain strategy roadmap last March.

The new policy roadmap aims to make Australia’s nascent blockchain industry into a global leader. As a result, it will make the country’s wine industry, banking and finance the key priority sectors.

Strategy & Roadmap Especially Focusing on Domestic Wine

While outlining the program’s development, Karen Andrews ( Minister for Industry, Science and Technology) says that the five-year blockchain roadmap will underpin the work of regulators, startups, and researchers on the matter. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 7th Feb. She also mentioned that the sector is set to be worth AU$259.4 billion.

Andrews pointed out blockchain’s purported capability to strengthen export opportunities, enabling domestic manufacturers to trace their goods, particularly when it comes to wine exports and wine labeling. Additionally, blockchain is expected to ensure wine’s provenance and cut part of expenditures.

Local wine is one of the most successful export products in Australia. Over 2,000 exporters from Australia alone are shipping it to 123 destinations worldwide. In 2019, the country’s wine export volume reportedly grew by 3% to AU$2.91 billion, although volume declined by 12% to 744 million liters.

Australia’s Spendings on Blockchain Technology

However, the government has ostensibly not yet allocated any funds to blockchain roadmap implementation. As reported last March, previous blockchain investments from Australia’s liberal national government – under Prime Minister Scott Morrison – allocated AU$700,000 to the country’s Digital Transformation Agency to explore the benefits of using blockchain for government payments. On the other hand, additional AU$350,000 sanctioned to Standards Australia to promote the development of standardized international blockchain standards.

Other Countries’ Approach to Blockchain Spendings

The Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE – a multi-stakeholder operation focused on science and technology – the Dubai Future Foundation and the World Economic Forum jointly released a paper in January. It states that the deployment of blockchain technology can save the UAE more than $3 billion.

Conversely, a major Russian firm recently decided to cut spendings on blockchain development in the country by at least 50%. Russian government-backed corporation Rostec is planning to spend 28.4 billion rubles on the development of blockchain technologies by 2024. Earlier it was 55 billion-to-85 billion rubles.