Welcome to the NFF’s Weekly Wrap, bringing you the week’s farming and political news each Friday.
Headlines
Applications open for leading mentoring program
On International Women’s Day, Monday 8 March, the NFF opened applications for its Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program. Now in its fourth year, the Program offers a unique mentoring opportunity for women with a passion for growing Australian agriculture. Apply here.
Government extends international freight assistance
Last night, NFF President Fiona Simson joined a panel on ABC’s Q&A to discuss a range of issues currently impacting the nation, including economic recovery and carbon emissions. The episode is available to watch on ABC iView.
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Weekly insight
Australia’s wool recovery slow and steady
According to the latest Agribusiness Monthly report from Rabobank, Australia’s wool market has been slowly improving through the first few months of 2021. Rabobank expects recovery in global consumer demand to lift wool prices in 2021 and for the Eastern Market Indicator to trade between 1300 and 1500 cents per kilo in 2021.
Europe's protectionism comes into play at every turn
This week, the European Union made headlines after its Parliament voted to introduce a carbon levy on products from countries lacking serious movement towards carbon emission reductions.
According to the European Parliament, there is concern around a lack of cooperation by some of the European Union’s trading partners to reach the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Given that Australia does not currently have a cohesive climate change plan in place, there are fears that the tariff could impact Australian producers despite Australia’s agriculture industry already having a clear CZN 2050 position in place with strict caveats.
Coupled with these fears is concern over the fact that
Australia is currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union, an already tense discussion given issues such as open market access and labelling.
This has led some to call out Europe’s protectionism tactics, pointing out the fact that over the past few years, Europe has resorted to protectionism in response to hurdles at the negotiating table.
Late last year, industry issued a stern warning to government on the topic of regulations, warning that any attempt from the European Union to dictate Australian regulations should be resisted.
The warning was issued following a request from the European
Union to extend its Geographical Indication (GIs) protections to Australia and Australian products. Such protections would essentially forbid Australian producers from using generic terms sch as feta, brie and scotch beef.
As Australia’s second largest destination for goods exports, the European Union is an important trading relationship for the nation and securing the right deal for farmers is paramount.
A deal that includes a tariff-free and quota-free access to the EU market is the only viable solution for Australia’s agriculture industry.
Going forward, the European Parliament will work on establishing a framework for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and determine whether industries such as agriculture will be included.
"We’ve set out target and now we need to work on the path to get there, let’s be clear about that. We’ve set the target and there are a lot of things we need to do to get there. We believe we’re well on the way. ”
- NFF PRESIDENT FIONA SIMSON ON AGRICULTURE'S CZN2050 TARGET
Sent by the National Farmers' Federation, NFF House, 14-16 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600
