The Australian Horticultural Exporters Association (AHEA) has urged the country’s minister foragriculture, Barnaby Joyce, to address market access issues in a number of Asian markets ahead of the 2015/16 Australian summer.
AHEA chairman, David Minnis, said a number of export sectors, including stonefruit, tablegrapes, mainland cherries and mangoes, faced an impending crisis ahead of their respective upcoming seasons should action not be taken immediately.
“These commodities are currently experiencing market failure due to market closures in Vietnam, Taiwan and Russia and with domestic margins falling, they need increased exports to turn them around,” Minnis explained. “If Australia doesn’t get direct access negotiated with China this coming season (September) for stonefruit and airfreight restored into key markets to move fresh produce, the situation will worsen.”
Minnis said AHEA had written to Joyce, urging him to intervene in market access negations between Australia and China and to bring about a different approach by the Australian Department of Agriculture. “Our member’s customers want to import Australian produce into countries like China, however our Federal Government fails in completing the necessary negotiations to make the access possible,” Minnis said.
While Minnis has previously praised the current Australian Government for delivering free trade agreements (FTA’s) with Japan, South Korea and China, he stressed that market development did not stop at the negotiation table.
“Australia can get good quality produce to Asian markets overnight if workplans and protocols negotiated are commercially viable,” he said. “There is no point in having FTA’s in place if we can’t take advantage of them as we do not have the market access.”
