Market Access and Trade Activities
Australia exports around 80 per cent of field crops produced. In other words, nearly 80 cents in every dollar of value of production in the cotton, grain, oilseed, pulse, rice, seed and sugar industries came from overseas.
- Increasing field crops market access
- Minimising inappropriate use of surplus disposal as food aid
- Membership of International Organisations
- International Grains Agreement (IGA) and the International Grains Council (IGC)
- International Sugar Agreement (ISA) and the International Sugar Organisation (ISO)
- International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
- Contact Field Crops Branch
Increasing field crops market access
Having a good product is critical to export marketing, but it is also important to secure and maintain market access at a governmental level. For example, in June 2001 Australia was elected Chair of the International Grains Council, the peak global industry body, which is recognition of Australia's role in international grains policy development. Australia also works to negotiate bilateral market access and to minimise the impact on existing commercial markets of food aid transactions from surplus production.
Successful market access begins with the structure of agricultural industries. For example, following the National Competition Policy Review in 2000, the government decided to maintain the wheat export single desk to maximise returns to growers. In recent years, the Government has encouraged grower ownership and control of industries to encourage export efficiency.
Minimising inappropriate use of surplus disposal as food aid
Providing overseas food aid is an important part of any country’s humanitarian policy. Indeed, Australia annually donates a minimum of 250,000 of wheat equivalent tonnes under the Food Aid Convention.
However, in some cases, shipments claimed by some countries as "food aid" are in fact used as a marketing tool to exploit countries that can and do purchase food on a commercial basis. Other shipments may in fact be just dumping surplus production regardless of the real needs of the recipient country. Not only can these practices merely displace Australian commercial exports of wheat, flour and rice, they can stop food aid going to help the truly needy. They also inhibit the market development of recipient countries and ruin entrepeneurial incentives.
Membership of International Organisations
Australia maintains membership of the International Sugar Agreement (ISA), the International Grains Agreement (IGA) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC). Involvement in these agreements and resultant organisations is directed towards facilitating growth in Australia's exports by minimising impediments to international trade in the commodities concerned. Our participation involves arranging representation and input to meetings of the organisations' various councils and committees which generally meet in London and Washington.
These organisations monitor, analyse and report on the impact on international trade of changes in policy measures affecting production and international trade. These include domestic support and export assistance arrangements, production levels and estimates of trade and end stocks.
International Grains Agreement (IGA) and the International Grains Council (IGC)
Australia is represented at Sessions of the International Grains Council and Executive Committee and Market Conditions Committee. The IGC work program includes projects on China's trade in grains and substitutes and the feed barley market in Saudi Arabia which are of direct relevance to Australia's grain trade. Representation is provided at Sessions of the Food Aid Committee. Australia completed the necessary domestic procedures for its formal accession to the Food Aid Convention, 1999 on 7 December 1999.
International Sugar Agreement (ISA) and the International Sugar Organisation (ISO)
Australia actively participates in meetings of the International Sugar Council, the Market Evaluation, Consumption and Statistics Committee, the Administrative Committee and informal discussions on the ISO's work program. The ISO adopted procedures proposed by Australia to provide greater transparency and involvement of all member countries in formulating the organisation's work program. Studies being undertaken in 2001 look at issues such as sugar price seasonality, the effect of sugar refining capacity increases, the implications of NAFTA and other Latin American trade pacts, developments in FSU markets and trends in freight costs.
International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
Closer inter-action between ICAC as an inter-governmental organisation and the commercial sector is being achieved through the activities of ICAC's Private Sector Advisory Panel.