• In a ceremony held at Parliament House on 17 November, Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng signed a Declaration of Intent to formalise the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
    In a ceremony held at Parliament House on 17 November, Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng signed a Declaration of Intent to formalise the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
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The trade deal announced by Australian and Chinese leaders will see significant improvements in market access for a wide range of Australian food exports into China, according to industry representatives.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) was among those to welcome the deal, in particular the substantial tariff reductions across most food and grocery categories.

AFGC CEO Gary Dawson said the agreement enables Australia to play to its strengths in international trade to secure maximum value for high value-add exports as well as commodities.

“China represents a $9 billion export market for Australian agrifood, and the benefits will support Australia’s largest manufacturing sector in food and grocery.

“Big winners include the beef, dairy and horticulture sectors, but the benefits will flow widely across most food and grocery categories seeking access to the Chinese market, which is growing rapidly,” he said.

He also said the FTA has established a platform for further trade liberalisation through a three year review of market access outcomes.

“This is in addition to the wide ranging tariff eliminations on beef, sheepmeat, wine, horticulture and some grains.

“No party ever gets everything they want from trade negotiations and this potential FTA will be no different. But improved market access into high value markets like China is vital for the future of Australia’s food and grocery sector. The benefits will flow to a broad range of Australian food and grocery manufacturing companies, large and small,” he said.

Judith Swales, managing director Fonterra Australia also said the expanding market access offered by the FTA was “critically important to the future profitability of the entire Australian dairy supply chain”.

“This is a good time to be in dairy. The FTA will be a game changer for Australian dairy,” said Swales.

 “It will bring our milk closer to the Chinese consumer - a market that represents 30 per cent of global dairy imports and is the world’s largest dairy importing country. We know that more milk is required to satisfy this demand and that all products in all forms are possible.”

Dairy Connect, which represents the NSW dairy industry, also applauded the four-year phase in of a zero tariff agricultural export agreement.

“It is the best outcome we could have hoped for as it will certainly go a long way in ensuring growth and a positive future for NSW dairy. For the first time since deregulation, dairy farmers will be empowered and be in a position to choose, which markets they sell their milk into,” said Dairy Connect CEO, Mike Logan.

Ausveg also welcomed the news that tariffs on horticultural products being imported into China would be removed within the next four years under the FTA.

“This agreement will cement China as a key destination for Australian vegetable exports, and it is hoped that this will benefit regional communities across the country by creating jobs and boosting economies,” said Ausveg spokesperson Andrew MacDonald.  

Tony Pititto, national head of Food & Beverage, Grant Thornton Australia, said although Australian beef, dairy and wine producers’ were now well positioned to take their place on the world stage as premium providers in the Chinese market, they now need to ensure that they have undertaken appropriate market research to fully understand the opportunities which will be opening up in China and its various markets.

“Whilst the FTA will help Australian producers decrease their reliance on the Australian market and its strong supermarket position, developing the right relationships with Chinese customers will be crucial to Australian companies being able to take advantage of greater access to Chinese markets,” said Pititto.

In a ceremony held at Parliament House on 17 November, Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng signed a Declaration of Intent to formalise the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

More than 85 per cent of Australian goods exports will be tariff free upon entry into force, rising to 93 per cent in four years. Some of these goods are currently subject to tariffs of up to 40 per cent.

Tariffs will also be abolished for Australia’s $13 billion dairy industry, and Australia’s beef and sheep farmers will also gain from the abolition of tariffs ranging from 12-25 per cent and all tariffs on Australian horticulture will be eliminated.

Tariffs on Australian wine of 14 to 30 per cent will go within four years, while tariffs on a wide range of seafood, including abalone, rock lobster, and southern bluefin tuna will also cease within four years.

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