Farmers’ message is that China is good for all of us

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WE all hate being told what is good for us — stop smoking, stop speeding, stop voting for Clive Palmer.

Yet, rarely do we have to be convinced to get behind something that is going to put dollars in our pockets and create jobs for our children.

But that is the case now, with Australia’s farmers launching a social media campaign next Monday to build support for Australia to sign a free trade agreement with China.

We are in intense negotiations with China at the moment, with an end-of-year deadline set by Prime Minister Tony Abbott only days after he took office.

The benefits of a deal with China are enormous. And not just for farmers.

We only have to look at New Zealand to see the impact of a trade deal with China. The Kiwis struck a deal in 2008. At the time it was exporting less than $500 million worth of dairy products to China each year.

Now, with import barriers slashed, New Zealand exports $4.5 billion of dairy annually to China.

And that is before the real growth in the Chinese middle class, which is yet to come, that will really drive exports of products such as dairy.

The Victorian Farmers Federations says the China trade deal is worth an extra $400,000 for each New Zealand farm.

No wonder New Zealand is called the Saudi Arabia of milk.

Meanwhile, Australia’s milk production has declined over the past decade. That is a disaster for Victoria, the biggest dairy state in the country.

Currently, more than 60 per cent of our dairy products are exported, generating $13 billion and creating 43,000 jobs, according to the industry.

Imagine if our exports took off like the Kiwis’ have. The explosion in transport, processing, services, manufacturing and administration would be spread from Cohuna to Collins St.

And it is not just dairy. Sheep, wool, grains and horticulture would all benefit if barriers to trading with China are cut.

So, if it is obvious we stand to benefit from a China deal, why do farmers have to convince the rest of us that this is the case?

The answer is in the trade deal signed with Japan earlier this year. Dairy was very disappointed with that outcome, with only a slight tariff cut for our exports.

The Government, in turn, blamed dairy for not getting its act together and sending mixed messages during those negotiations.

The dairy industry now realises it must get the public on board, to make sure the message gets to the politicians that they can’t afford to stuff up the China deal.

So on Monday they are launching the #FTA4dairy and #FTA4farmers campaign in an attempt to swamp social media with the message a China trade deal is good for all Australians.

It is ironic that although the campaign has been planned for some time — hindered by the usual inability to co-ordinate all arms of agriculture — it comes at a critical time in the Chinese trade negotiations.

First, there was the disgraceful rant of self-centred Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer against China, aided by his uninspiring Tasmanian colleague, Jacqui Lambie.

Palmer has sold himself as the friend of rural Australia, but the words of those two plodders could cause untold damage to the future incomes of Australian farmers.

His grovelling apology on Tuesday looked like too little too late.

Second, there are rumblings from Canberra that negotiators may have to give more ground on agriculture to China than farmers will accept.

It is clear Australia must secure a deal with China to benefit all of us. We shouldn’t need a hashtag to convince anyone of that.

Source: Herald Sun

Mirá También

Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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