Australia: Market access delivering gains

The release of the September cattle and sheep projections updates show record exports of beef and sheepmeat for the upcoming calendar year. While many factors have led to these high numbers, Australia’s strong market access position has improved diversification and competitiveness in the global market. As an export-oriented, red meat-producing nation, free trade has been vitally important in developing a resilient industry. The majority of Australian red meat exports are now covered by FTAs, which have eliminated or significantly reduced tariffs on the vast majority of exports. Beef In the year-to-August 2024, 93% of Australian beef exports were shipped to countries with which Australia has an FTA. This figure stands in stark contrast to 2014, when 38% of exports were to countries with FTAs, or in 2004, when that figure was only 0.4%. What’s more, many of these FTAs are now relatively ‘mature’ – they have been effect for several years, meaning that Australia is now well into ...