1999 Australasian Citrus and Fruit Juice Convention
Address by the Deputy Prime Minister Leader of the National Party Minister for Trade The Hon Tim Fischer MP to the 1999 Australasian Citrus and Fruit Juice Convention
Gold Coast, 26 April 1999
(Check Against Delivery)
Regretfully previous commitments have made it impossible for me to attend this important convention today. But all the same I am very grateful for this opportunity to address you all.
Over the past five years the Australian citrus industry has worked incredibly hard to meet challenges in both the domestic and overseas markets. It has been tough. But the industry has made real gains and I salute its efforts.
The industry's export success has been particularly impressive. Not only has the industry become a net exporter of high quality fresh fruit, but we have also seen the opening up of new markets for juices, most notably in Japan.
Exports of citrus products, mainly fresh oranges but also juice products, have risen steadily from $A110 million in 1994 to $A163 million in 1998.
And significantly, exports in 1998 were up from $150 million the previous year, a notable achievement given the drop in overall demand in some of our Asian markets.
The citrus industry has been able to compensate, to an extent, for the overall decline in sales to Asia by increasing exports to the USA with exports of citrus fruit to that market jumping from $A19 million in 1996 to $A44 million in 1998. Though, the Asian region still accounted for a healthy $A94 million of citrus exports in 1998.
Importantly too, the growth in exports has far outstripped the growth in imports of citrus products. Imports in 1998 amounted to $66 million, of which Brazil and USA supplied $57 million.
These successes are all the more noteworthy given that you face an intensely competitive environment. You can rest assured that the Government will continue to do what it can, bilaterally and multilaterally, to ensure that the playing field is as level as possible and to win a place for our exports in the international market.
While Brazil and the USA will continue to dominate world trade in citrus juice, our recent experience with high quality citrus fruit clearly demonstrates that there are valuable market opportunities for smaller producers such as Australia.
The Government continues to focus strongly on fighting for improved market access at the bilateral level. In this regard the Citrus Market Diversification Program and the Supermarket to Asia strategy have proved particularly effective in identifying and opening up specific market opportunities. I understand that Senator Judith Troeth will be giving you a report card on this particular Program.
And we continue to approach the issue of improving market access in a comprehensive and cohesive manner, including through the Market Development Task Force and through the market access facilitators in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
We have negotiated access to some previously closed markets such as Taiwan in the course of negotiating a package of concessions and commitments for their accession to the WTO. This access is limited, but it is a foot in the door of a market with real promise. We have also secured improved access to New Zealand and the USA following acceptance of fruit fly area freedom status.
I know this can sometimes appear to be a slow process. Let me assure you, we keep pushing for all unjustified quarantine barriers to be removed, and arrangements on fumigation treatments and inspection to be set in place as soon as possible in all potential markets. But it does take time, and involves detailed technical procedures and considerable resources both in Australia and in other markets.
The citrus industry itself has an important role in guiding the Government in these efforts by identifying market access priorities. To this end, we have set in place arrangements for the industry to work closely with Government through the access negotiation processes I have just mentioned, as well as through the activities of the Australian Horticultural Corporation and the Horticultural Market Access Committee.
On a multilateral level, we have already seen the enhancement of trade opportunities through the inclusion of agriculture in the global framework of WTO trade rules following the Uruguay Round of negotiations in 1995.
We are currently focusing on Australia's objectives in the WTO negotiations on agriculture which will resume next year. These negotiations are a major opportunity to achieve substantial gains on agricultural market access, including for horticultural products such as citrus fruit.
World agriculture markets are still highly distorted. There remain too many subsidies and too many barriers to real market access. This discriminates against Australian producers who are generally globally competitive. This process of continuing, fundamental reform is therefore essential.
The Government's partnership with industry will play a key role in ensuring that we get the best possible outcome during the forthcoming negotiations. Close cooperation and consultation will be critical.
In concluding let me just reaffirm the importance of exporting to this industry's future. Exporting is difficult, particularly in a fiercely competitive market where not all of your competitors play fair. But exporting is critical if the citrus industry is going to continue to grow and flourish. We have already shown that we can compete internationally and we can win for ourselves an increased share of the international market. Working together, I firmly believe we can secure a positive future for the citrus industry.
This convention brings together a wide selection of interests - growers, processors, marketers. All have an important stake in the industry and in defining the industry's future successes. I have no doubt that you will be able to make an important contribution to the wider debate taking place in the industry at present. I look forward to hearing the outcome of your discussions.