However, on the farm machinery front, Mr Serafin says the South Americans still have a bit to learn about fine tuning their gear to suit Australia's dusty and hard-wearing cropping conditions which contrast markedly with the often well-watered crop soils in Argentina or Brazil.

One of the pioneers of South American imports, Serafin Machinery in Griffith started selling Brazilian-made Baldan tillage and planting gear five years ago, more recently using South American components in its own locally built nine-to 18-metre Ultisow single disc seeders.

"We've pushed for changes over the years and done a lot of consultation on specifications as well as getting local specialists to make modifications after running our own trials," said Mr Serafin.

"I expect to see a lot of disc gear coming in from Argentina, and probably India, too, during the next five years, but you have to remember the conditions farmers work with over here are different - including having less labour available for routine maintenance," Mr Serafin said.

Another South American import pioneer, Colin Kilby, began distributing the Argentinean-made Mainero grain bag system eight years ago and considers the finished product equal to anything built in Australia.

"The workmanship and quality of the steel is excellent - and the gear has been developed and designed by farmers," said Mr Kilby who runs the Gilgandra-based grain handling and marketing business, SBG, in Central NSW.