Farmers react to new trade agreement between Australia and European Union

TasFarmers are lukewarm about the new trade agreement between Australia and the European Union (EU), while the National Farmers' Federation (NFF) have slammed it.

Ian Sauer, the president of TasFarmers, said the new agreement was not much different from the previous deal.

“That part’s a little bit disappointing,” Mr Sauer said.

“Most people in the agriculture sector are yawning a little bit on this one.

“That’s not to say the Australian government hasn’t tried – I’m absolutely convinced that the government and all the trade negotiators have been trying very, very hard – but it’s just disappointing when everyone puts in so much effort and we are where we are now.”

While he said the removal of tariffs on products such as abalone and honey was positive, Mr Sauer did not expect the new trade agreement to have a big impact on Tasmanian agriculture.

“We don’t get these subsidies that they get in the northern hemisphere.

“What we’ve been looking for is to have a playing field where we can trade fairly and reasonably on the international stage.

“And for places like Tasmania, where we produce more food than we consume, to be able to export into a range of markets.

“Plus, it puts competition into the market, and it means the farmers and processors in Tasmania will receive more for their product.”

The NFF was more scathing in its assessment of the deal between Australia and the EU.

President Hamish McIntyre said Australian farmers were extremely disappointed that talks concluded without commercially meaningful agricultural market access gains since Australia last walked away from negotiations.

“What the Australian Government has accepted today appears to offer no material change for key agricultural commodities, as the Government rightly rejected in October 2023,” Mr McIntyre said.

“For decades, our sector has been guided by a clear principle of wanting more two-way trade with the EU, not less.

“While we acknowledge some progress on issues such as geographical indicators, preserving the use of names like prosecco and parmesan, farmers will rightly be concerned that this deal hasn’t delivered commercially meaningful access for Australian agricultural exports.

“They will now pay the price for this subpar EU deal for decades to come.”