Success of agriculture heavily linked to overseas trade

We've had the opportunity to meet with government, business and industry and it's been good to show a united government and industry front supporting a strong and sustainable Australian agricultural industry.

We are here to get the Australia-UK free trade agreement (FTA) over the line and support the ongoing Australia-European Union FTA negotiations by sharing what Australian farmers and leaders are doing to ensure we have sustainable agricultural systems.

So, just how important are these deals to Australian farmers?

The success of Australian agriculture is heavily linked to international trade.

More than 80 per cent of our farm exports go to countries that have signed FTAs with Australia.

The UK and EU (plus India) remain the final, major unrealised opportunities.

Unfortunately, recent multilateral efforts to lower barriers to trade have struggled to make an impact.

As a result, FTAs have become the main tool for driving trade liberalisation.

Movement on these FTAs has been sluggish.

While the UK FTA was signed in late 2021 and Australia ticked the box on our legislative requirements, we are waiting on the British Parliament to finalise theirs.

This is frustrating for many farmers and exporters, particularly beef, sheep meat and dairy producers and cane growers, who are keen to access this expanded market opportunity.

Likewise our customers and consumers in the UK.

With the EU, things are complex.

Sustainability has never been more important to our global trading partners.

Australian farmers know just how important their stewardship role is to make sure our land is productive for the current crop, but also the crops that future generations will grow.

We know our landscapes are unique, with their own set of challenges and seasonal differences.

We know there is no one set of rules or expectations that can be applied and that outcomes-based standards work best.

While we know what we are doing to manage, nourish and care for our landscapes, much less is known about it overseas.

We also know there is the threat of being left out of important trade agreements, and decision-makers across the globe may fill in the knowledge gaps based on the pressures they are facing and the farming systems they know, rather than what we have.

This could mean irrelevant and unworkable market access regulations being imposed if we don't stand up and share the significant gains we are making in Australia towards sustainability and emissions reduction.

We must work harder in international forums to meet changing export expectations and satisfy shifting consumer expectations overseas.

And it goes further than expectations, with aggressive and malignant campaigns actively working against Australian farmers.

We can do this by making sure our trading partners understand our production systems and how we continue to sustainably produce high quality, safe, nutritional agricultural products.

This is where the Australian Agriculture Sustainability Framework will play a significant role.

This isn't just for the benefit of farmers, but for the economic benefit to our national economy.

I am proud to be here to share a farm perspective with the world about how our climate and agricultural production systems are unique, and how Australian farmers are leading the way in approaches to sustainability that allow them to increase productivity and continue to contribute to global food security.