Sugar Export Sweetner

The Federal Government has pledged almost $600,000 to help diversify and enhance market access for Australian sugar exports.

Announcing the funding during a visit to CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri's Mackay farm on 29 April, Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said the funding would improve trade outcomes for the industry.

"This project will build on past successes in improving trade outcomes, like successful challenges in the WTO and the signing of free trade deals,” Minister Littleproud said.

“With potential gains in the order of $1.2 billion from the freer flow of raw sugar between 2022 and 2040, tapping into this will require the best information and analysis to inform the best approaches to improve our access to high-value markets.

“The project will help maintain our international reputation in key high value markets such as Japan and enable exporters to earn higher premiums from importers seeking high quality cane sugar.”

In a joint statement, CANEGROWERS and the Australian Sugar Milling Council welcomed the funding announcement.

"The Australian sugar industry welcomes the decision of the Australian Government to support the first phase of the industry’s Five-year Trade Policy and Market Access (TP&MA) strategy," the statement said.

With 85% of our raw sugar exported, securing access to a wide range of markets is vitally important. The value of market diversity cannot be understated.

The strategy is the culmination of multiple years’ analysis and discussion across industry stakeholder groups. It has nine action plans and five broad objectives which are:

• Achieve a fairer global playing field free of export subsidies, and trade distorting domestic price supports;

• Maximise export revenues by focussing on the highestreturning global markets;

• Look ‘over-the horizon’ to identify potential new global growth markets;

• Address a number of technical barriers to trade; and

• Better understand the environmental requirements of global customers.

The new $592,900 grant, provided under the Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation program, will fund four action plans and the first year of the strategy’s implementation.

The four plans relate to the recent win against India at the World Trade Organisation; meeting environmental requirements for accessing global markets; identifying new markets; and improving procedures when exporting to Japan.

Mr Schembri thanked the Federal Government for its support of the strategy.

"With 85% of our raw sugar exported, securing access to a wide range of markets is vitally important. The value of market diversity cannot be understated,” he said. •

Pictured: (L-R) CANEGROWERS Deputy Chair Kevin Borg, CANEGROWERS Chairman Paul Schembri, Mackay Sugar's Carissa Mansfield, Nationals candidate for Dawson Andrew Wilcox and Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud.