AUSTRALIA’S wool and meat exporters have expressed concern about the Federal Government’s intentions to raise export fees and charges to effect full cost recovery from next year.

Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins on Friday released the government’s Agricultural Exports Cost Recovery Implementation Statements to ensure export services “are sustainably funded and continue to meet industry needs.”

Although the phased transition to full cost recovery has been deferred until 1 July next year, the proposed fee increases have been branded as cruel by Shadow Agriculture Minister Darren Chester.

He said Labor’s cruel cost recovery plan was once again treating Australian farmers with contempt, with the announcement dropped after sunset (Friday), making it all but impossible for industry to respond. Mr Chester said Labor’s final fees and charges for agricultural export regulatory services come just weeks after Labor’s “worst ever” European Union Free Trade Agreement and follows “Labor’s biggest tax grab Budget on Australian agriculture in a generation.”

Ms Collin’s statement said agricultural, fisheries and forestry exports are forecast to reach a record value of around $86 billion in 2025-26, with this growth in trade backed by essential export services delivered by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The cost of delivering these services has outstripped the value recovered from industry for 16 of the last 20 years, with the Albanese Labor Government providing $138 million in supplementation measures from 2023-24 to 2025-26, her statement said.

Ms Collins said the government is delivering close to $57 million in supplementation funding from 2026-27 to 2028-29 to ensure these vital services continue to be delivered while a phased return to full cost recovery occurs. This includes an additional $8.2 million committed in the 2026-27 Budget to support deferring the phased transition to full cost recovery for 12 months.

Ms Collins said the Albanese Labor Government will continue to work tirelessly with Australia’s farmers and producers to deliver new and improved market access opportunities, to safeguard the diversification of our trade.

Wool exporters concerned about what’s coming

Executive director of the Australian Council of Wool Exporters and Processors, and the Private Treaty Wool Merchants of Australia, Scott Williams, said ACWEP has been following the cost recovery process closely.

He said wool exporters incur fewer charges than say meat or dairy exporters, as wool is a ‘non-prescribed good’ and the main cost for wool exporters is the general export certificate (‘health certificate’) that is required for each shipment.

“It’s currently $88.

“The price for a general export certificate will rise to $194.74 by 2029/30, i.e. an increase of 121pc over four years.”

Mr Williams said this is not a huge cost when spread over a shipment.

“What we’re more concerned about is a separate process that’s currently underway to reform the way that export services for non-prescribed goods will be charged.

“Wool exporters will require an ongoing export licence and then a separate permit for each shipment,” he said.

“That reform has the potential to add significantly to the cost of wool exports and will be additional to the current round of price increases.

“However, we don’t have firm estimates of those costs at this stage,” Mr Williams said.

“We agree with other industries who have argued that these increased costs directly reduce farmer profitability and reduce our international competitiveness.

“Given the spillover benefits to the broader economy from agricultural exports, government should be meeting a proportion of the cost of export services, not aiming to achieve full cost recovery.”

Export tax increases undermine competitiveness

The Australian Meat Industry Council has expressed serious concerns about the proposed 38pc increase in meat export taxes outlined in the CRIS.

The exporter group has also accused the Federal Government of relinquishing its responsibility for maintaining access to overseas markets for Australian agricultural exports, by ignoring calls for caps on export taxes and not funding work to rein state trade suspensions.

AMIC CEO Tim Ryan said the industry’s concerns had been largely ignored, with the government choosing to apply a system which rewards loss of markets and places additional pressure on Australian meat processors and exporters at a time of significant market constraints, rising costs and increasing global competition.”

“Australia’s meat exporters are facing export challenges on an unprecedented scale and operate in a highly competitive international marketplace.

“Significant increases in export taxes undermine our competitiveness and add further costs to businesses throughout the supply chain,” Mr Ryan said.

AMIC said the final cost recovery implementation statements confirm that the government has no plan or intention to address this issue, and go further in clearly outlining that from now on it will force industry to pay for all the costs associated with its loss of access to global markets, rather than appropriately funding this work through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

“While AMIC supports appropriate cost recovery for export services, industry needs confidence that fees are transparent, efficient and directly linked to the services being delivered,” Mr Ryan said.

“Not only have our calls for caps on export taxes and greater scrutiny been ignored, the government has now clearly outlined it will not fund work to reinstate trade suspensions, but rather double-hit Australian businesses by taxing industry further when overseas counties restrict or cut off trade.

“Despite a one-year pause to the increased taxes, its alarming the government has ignored the global trading challenges and has rammed through these changes at a time when Australian meat exports are losing access to markets and facing significant challenges across the supply chain.”

Mr Ryan said the timing and scale of the increases were concerning for an industry that relies on efficient export systems to maintain access to key global markets.

“Government policy should support Australia’s export industries, not make it more expensive to do business and compete internationally.

“Barely a year after its re-election and claiming a productivity agenda, the government has chosen to tax and restrict agricultural productivity rather than support agricultural export industries.”