Australian agriculture is losing an estimated US$4 billion in export value each year due to non-tariff barriers, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). These measures, applied by importing countries, range from biosecurity and plant health restrictions to customs requirements that add costs and limit market access.
Dr Jared Greenville, executive director at ABARES, said: "So non-tariff barriers or non-tariff measures more generally are kind of all the frictions and the rules that govern trade between two nations, so they're all the rules basically. While there are good reasons to have them, they're not always used for those good reasons." He noted that the number of non-tariff measures applied globally increased from about one million in 2014 to 14 million in 2024.
The rise in measures has raised the equivalent tariff rate on agricultural trade from 1.5% to 19% over the past decade, nearly double the recent 10% tariff applied by the United States on Australian imports. Greenville said the impact has "taken about $4 billion off the value of our exports annually."
New South Wales grain grower Rebecca Reardon said many farmers are unaware of the impact: "It does affect farmers. It's not in our face. We don't see it, and most farmers, or many farmers, are not actually even aware of these non-tariff barriers, but they are affecting the return to farmers by the fact that we're not accessing certain markets, which might be the best returning market."
Reardon, also a director at Grains Australia, said its research shows grain exports face an average equivalent tariff of 6%, with some crops subject to up to 40% in certain markets. Examples in the grains sector include demands for zero chemical residue levels or no tolerance for weed seeds, which are difficult to achieve. In dairy, some countries require health certificates for every milk tanker received at a factory, while in horticulture, customs valuation requirements have limited exports of perishable crops like potatoes and carrots despite free trade agreements.
Reardon said: "At the end of the day, most countries are net importers, so the reason they are doing these non-tariff barriers is because it is protectionism; they're protecting their food security and their farmers for the future."
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stated that non-tariff barriers add costs, delays, and uncertainty for exporters, and a strategy is being developed to address them. ABARES has forecast that agricultural exports will decline by almost US$2 billion this financial year, driven largely by lower grain prices and reduced livestock processing. Farmers argue that resolving non-tariff barriers must remain a priority, particularly as negotiations with the European Union continue.
Source: ABC News