NSW Farmers president Fiona Simson said doing away with the carbon tax was a good thing for farmers but it wasn’t the only thing to consider when it came to producers’ profitability.
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“Input costs for farmers have risen markedly in the past 12 to 24 months and there is no doubt the carbon tax has played a part in that,” she said.
“Particularly in the cost of fertiliser and electricity and other commodities.
“And although the agriculture sector was not directly taxed, farmers are ‘price takers’ and not ‘price makers’, so they are unable to pass the extra input costs on.
“But profitability is a huge issue for farmers and it is hard to aim a silver bullet (the repeal of the carbon tax) to fix the problem on its own; it is not the only issue.
“However, we would expect some lower input costs and we will be keeping an eye on that.”
