Building stronger agricultural ties with the Americas

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud will be the first Australian Agriculture Minister to visit the United States since 2009, touching down this week.

 

Minister Littleproud is visiting the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina to develop new links within the G20 as we push for market access for our world-class Aussie produce.

 

Many Australians don’t realise a free trade agreement does not win us market access for our produce. It often takes years of negotiations between scientists and diplomats to agree on export protocols which protect the biosecurity of both nations before market access is granted.

 

“I want to reinforce our longstanding and fruitful agricultural relationship with the United States while building closer relationships with Mexico, Brazil and Argentina,” Mr Littleproud said.

 

“The value of two-way agriculture trade between Australia and the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina was worth a combined $7.6 billion in 2017.

 

“Mexico and Brazil are significant emerging agricultural markets and growing those relationships is vital.

“Australia and Mexico recently signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, our first joint FTA. We are also in negotiations for the Australia-Pacific Alliance FTA, which includes Mexico.

“I have a duty to our farmers to make the most out of these agreements.

 

“In the Budget I announced additional agricultural counsellors to help get our Aussie produce on the shelves in key emerging markets. Additional counsellors will be placed in regions where we are negotiating or have recently concluded free trade agreements, including Latin America.

 

“The G20 meeting in Argentina will be an opportunity to strengthen our trade relationship with G20 countries, whose markets were worth a combined $37.6 billion for Australia’s agriculture exports in 2017.

 

“I will be co-chairing the inaugural Australia-Argentina High Level Agriculture Dialogue with my Argentinian counterpart in Buenos Aires. Argentina is home to 43 million people and is one of the most developed markets in Latin America, so there is huge untapped potential there for our Aussie farmers.

 

“Our government’s free trade agenda has done a great job in opening up new markets for Aussie agricultural produce. “