PEAK farming bodies have expressed their dismay over Russian bans on Australian agricultural products this month.
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National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) president Brent Finlay said he expected the federal government to play a strong role in the matter.
“The farm sector is concerned about disruptions to export markets due to the fact Australia exports over 60 per cent of its agricultural produce, and is inherently export orientated,” he said.
“The severity of the total impact to the farm sector is still to be determined.
“The Australian government needs to seek greater clarity on the details of the ban and determine what this may mean for the sectors affected.
“Then we need a strong commitment from the Australian government to work closely with the farm sector to facilitate the movement of produce to alternative markets, which would have otherwise been exported to Russia.
“More broadly, this reiterates the NFF’s call to ensure bilateral trade agreements with other nations have commercially meaningful outcomes and the need to further develop relationships with other trading partners during this period.”
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) president Peter Tuohey said Russia’s ban on Australian food exports had highlighted the need for the federal government to deliver a strong Free Trade Agreement with China.
“I trust the federal government, under the stewardship of Trade Minister Andrew Robb, will deliver an FTA with China that will strip away tariff barriers that had hampered Australian agriculture’s access to China,” he said.
“Russia buys $400 million of our $38 billion in food and fibre exports.
“Compare that with what China could offer us in export growth under an FTA.
“Australian grain, beef, sheepmeat, dairy and horticultural producers all stand to gain from an FTA with China, via the removal of import quotas and tariffs.
“What’s happened in Russia just highlights the need for us to get strong FTAs in place that open up more markets for Australian exports.”
GrainCorp spokesman Angus Trigg said there would be limited impact on the grains industry.
“But Russia is not an export market for us, they are a competitor.”