Australia’s dairy industry has welcomed a new bilateral trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, with high hopes it will increase exports to the region.
The deal was announced by Federal Minister for Trade Don Farrell on Tuesday, September 17.
The Australian Dairy Industry Council has long supported the push for a trade agreement with the UAE.
ADIC chair Ben Bennet said the deal would mean more agreeable trading conditions between the two countries.
“Today’s announcement by the Minister for Trade, Don Farrell, represents a strong opportunity in an important export market for Australian dairy,” Mr Bennett said.
“We congratulate Minister Farrell on the announcement, which we hope leads to improved market access for our product ... and look forward to seeing the detail on what that looks like for dairy.”
ADIC deputy chair John Williams said the UAE was Australia’s largest trade and investment partner in the Middle East and that Gulf Cooperation Council countries collectively imported about 900,000 tonnes of dairy product annually.
“Through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, Australia gains an advantage in trade with the major players in the GCC countries,” Mr Williams said.
“As a combined market, it’s one of the largest dairy import markets globally, roughly equivalent in size to large economies like the United Kingdom.
“Australia is a relatively minor supplier of dairy products to the GCC region, though this has not always been the case.
“This agreement is bound to help Australian dairy’s competitiveness.”
United Dairy Farmers of Victoria president Bernie Free said such international deals were “always good”.
“It won’t set the world on fire but it will give us another market,” Mr Free said.
“We export a few different ag products to the UAE so it’s another way of getting it there, and the more markets we have, the better price that farmers can get.
“The UAE is a wealthier country so hopefully it will give us the opportunity to get a higher price for the larger margin products.”