The Western Australian Farmers Federation (Inc) (WAFarmers) welcomes the announcement from the Federal Government that Australia has secured market access for Australian lamb to India.
Australian lamb is being allowed into India free of quotas, based on Australia’s compliance with India’s food safety requirements.
WAFarmers Meat Section President, Jeff Murray, said the new market access was a boost for Western Australian lamb producers.
“Lamb producers have done it tough recently at the hands of falling farmgate prices as well as the ongoing impact from the live export ban,” Mr Murray said.
“India is a huge market and there are magnificent opportunities for Western Australian lamb producers to send their quality products for consumption in this growing market.”
Mr Murray said while the news of the new market access to India was positive, many producers are still waiting for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea to be finalised.
“In times where farmgate prices are low for many of our products, the FTA with South Korea provides farmers with another option to market their produce,” he said.
“The FTA with South Korea is being held up due to an impasse on the inclusion of an Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism and until that clause is finalised, Australian producers will not be able to compete on equal terms.
“The South Korean market is slipping away from Australia as we lose market share to the USA, which is bad news for Australian producers and the Australian economy,” Mr Murray concluded.
WAFarmers calls on the Federal Government to fast track the FTA with South Korea to ensure greater market access for Australian producers.
