Sweet export opportunities for North Queensland canegrowers

MAY 14, 2018: THE Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud was in Mackay this morning to talk about how the Budget will help sugarcane farmers eyeing off trade opportunities to Europe, Latin America and across key markets in Asia. Canegrowers across North Queensland are set to benefit from the Coalition Government’s $51.3 million exports package, which will deliver better market access for our farmers.My electorate of Dawson is the biggest sugar producing region in the country, and of course Queensland is the sweetest state in Australia, producing around 95 per cent of the country’s sugarcane.I am determined our cane farmers will have a choice of markets to send their premium sugar to get the best price. You can only do that when you have market access.This Budget investment boosts Australia’s representation in key markets to help the industry build strong relationships with our trading partners and provide vital market intelligence.Australia’s top sugar export market is Korea, worth $984 million in 2016/17, helped along by better market access off the back of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement which wiped out the 3 per cent tariff.Minister Littleproud said funding six new agricultural counsellor positions in key emerging export markets and extending five others would ensure we make the most of our free trade agreements.“Australia is the third largest sugar exporter in the world, exporting around 3.6 million tonnes of sugar annually worth $2.4 billion which supports our regional communities, especially in North Queensland,” Minister Littleproud said.“While global prices are lower than normal, with trade deals like the TPP-11 in a market worth $13.8 trillion, we want to ensure our cane growers thrive, not just survive.  Our counsellor network is primed to help our producers take advantage of huge opportunities in the Canadian and Japanese markets as world prices begin to recover.“Agricultural counsellors helped win us new market access into China for several commodities in the past few years – nectarines in 2016 and peaches, plums and apricots in 2017. Ag counsellors also helped us win agreement for more practical treatment for citrus, table grapes, and cherries going into China, which can reduce costs and help make our farmers more money.“Industry estimates these market access gains in China and improved treatment schedules will be worth more than $200 million annually. This improves profit at the farm gate and drives real wealth our regions.“We continue to give farmers a fair go through measures such as doubling farm management deposits to $800,000 and the $20,000 instant asset write-offs to enable farmers to replace or upgrade things like the old work ute.“The Coalition has a strong track record of supporting canegrowers to get produce to new markets, including farmers in my electorate, and the 2018 Budget agricultural investment continues to put farmers first.”