EDITORIAL: With Australia and China on the verge of signing a historic free trade agreement (FTA) after years of negotiation, the opportunity for dairy farmers to at last benefit from the so-called Asian food bowl hype might be about to become a reality.
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The FTA will give all kinds of Australian businesses a stronger foothold in the booming Chinese economy but it is industries related to food security and quality products for Chinese consumers that stand to gain the most.
New Zealand saw the light many years ago when it signed a lucrative trade agreement with the Chinese.
That deal was a massive boost for the country’s dairy industry and it left Australia’s dairy sector wondering why it could not happen here.
It has taken a while but Australia is set to sign a deal that we are told will be every bit as agreeable as the one New Zealand has been profiting from for many years now.
The breathtaking increase in New Zealand’s dairy exports to China has played a significant part in New Zealand’s steadily rising national income.
It has enjoyed a dairy boom.
Trade and investment Minister Andrew Robb has described the FTA as a once in a millennium opportunity for Australia-China trade ties and he may well be right.
For too long Australian farmers and primary producers have lagged behind and even under-valued the quality of their product.
The fact is that with the massive boom in middle-class consumerism across China the demand for Australian produce has never been greater.
Under the FTA, a huge range of Australian agricultural products will see tariffs reduced to zero, opening up the opportunity to seize the market like never before.