Agriculture Minister David Littleproud

TARIFFS on sheep meat imports into Peru will be eliminated immediately under a free trade agreement signed in Canberra today.

The Peru-Australia FTA will cut more than 99 percent of agricultural product tariffs into the country, including the current 9 percent tariff on sheep and kangaroo meat, seafood, wheat and most horticulture products.

The FTA will also eliminate all tariffs for beef within five years and most of the tariffs for pork, currently at 17pc.

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, David Littleproud, said PAFTA will eliminate 99.4 per cent of tariffs that exporters face into Peru, putting Australian farmers on equal footing with foreign competitors.

Red Meat Advisory Council independent chair Mr Don Mackay said that PAFTA provided an exciting new opportunity in the Latin American meat market.

“The forecast is for Peruvian beef consumption to triple by 2020 and sheep meat consumption to increase by 20 percent by 2025.

“This, paired with the tariff reduction to zero on all red meat products via PAFTA, means that it is a new market with emerging potential,” Mr Mackay said.

“This is a welcomed gain on the tariff elimination schedule that Peru was offering Australia in the yet-to-be ratified Trans Pacific Partnership.”

Mr Mackay said Australian and Peruvian government authorities are already talking to establish the required import protocols for Australian red meat.

“To date there has been no red meat trade between Australia and Peru due to a lack of import protocols.

“With the conclusion of PAFTA negotiations and anticipated establishment of protocols, our industry is ideally placed to assist Peru with its demand for imported red meat,” he said.

“From an industry perspective, we will be in a position to respond to potential inquiries from the Peruvian retail and foodservice sectors.

“PAFTA is a well-regarded first step in securing closer economic relations with the Pacific Alliance group of countries that include Chile, Columbia, Mexico and Peru,” he said.

Mr Littleproud said the new trade deal is a huge win for Aussie farmers, creating expanded export opportunities for Australia’s sugar, dairy, grains, kangaroo meat, red meat, wine and horticulture sectors.

“This is fantastic news, putting more cash in the pockets of for our hard working farmers while building on our $435 million two-way trade with Peru,” he said.

Another key tariff outcomes for Australian agriculture through the PAFTA is the immediate elimination of tariffs for wine across lines of commercial interest to Australia, with the remainder being phased out over five years (current tariffs are up to 9 pc).

PAFTA will provide a number of industries with duty-free access for large volumes of exports, including:

• 30,000 tonnes of sugar, growing to 60,000 tonnes in year five and to 90,000 tonnes by year 18.
• 7000 tonnes of dairy, growing to 10,000 tonnes (capped amount) in year five.
• 9000 tonnes of rice, growing to 14,000 tonnes (capped amount) in year five.
• 15,000 tonnes of sorghum, with the volume growing to 20,000 tonnes (capped amount) in year five.

Mr Littleproud said PAFTA will allow us to better compete in the Peruvian market and it supports the potential for expanded trade into the broader Latin American region.

The signing of PAFTA follows the finalisation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will lock in greater trade access to markets worth almost $10 trillion combined, including Japan, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei.

For more on PAFTA, visit http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/pafta/Pages/peru-australia-fta.aspx