Chess teaches you to move a piece across the board that might only become valuable in the closing minutes of the game.

And while I would never profess to be a grandmaster, I appreciate the strategic thinking required to improve at the game.

That is why I believe the free trade agreement  with China that was announced this week is a real checkmate for our Western Queensland rural industries.

The focus of the much reported FTA has been one of the immediate benefits for Australia.

But if we take a longer term view, it is equally clear that the Queensland agriculture sector, especially the beef sector, has been placed in a prime position on the international board in the decades to come.

Firstly, consider that Australian beef exports to China set new records in 2013 – totalling 153,000 tonnes, which is worth about $722 million.

This was up from 35,000 tonnes (worth $149 million) the previous year – incredibly, this is a more than a four-fold increase in just 12 months.

Overall, this represents about 57 per cent of the Chinese import market.

The newly announced agreement builds on this solid foundation.

The newly announced Chinese FTA will enable the elimination of tariffs on beef imports (currently ranging from 12-25 per cent) within nine years as well as the elimination of the 12 per cent tariff on beef offal within four-seven years.

Importantly, this will take place at a time when China’s star is rising.

The World Bank predicts that before 2030 China may well become a high-income economy and the world’s largest economy.

Furthermore, if China is able to continue to grow at solid rates and boost consumption, by 2020 it may well have the world’s single largest middle class market.

In fact, according to ABARES, between 2009 and 2050 the real value of beef consumption in China is projected to rise 236per cent.

It is clear that rising consumption and falling tariffs will improve the long term profitability of Queensland graziers.

Alongside the agreements already signed with South Korea and Japan, it not only provides clear economic benefits for Australian agriculture, but also serves to explain the central importance of the farming sector in our national economy.

Far from the decision makers in Canberra, our farmers and rural communities can all too often be overlooked when policy is being formulated.

But when the cold hard facts are illustrated, agriculture’s significant contribution to our national coffers is clear.

Despite the drought that we are all fighting, our beef sector has much to feel optimistic about.

Because the world class beef we offer will remain the envy of the world and the product of choice for the plates of the globe.

And it will remain a product no country will be able to easily move against.