Australian farmers urge FTA for greater access to Korean market

By Byun Duk-kun
SYDNEY, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- Australia's farmers are increasingly calling for a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea as rivals expand their presence in the East Asian market, industry representatives said Friday.
Australia's market share in South Korea, especially in the beef industry, is expected to further dwindle when South Korea and the United States implement their FTA before the end of the year as currently planned.
The Korea-U.S. FTA, signed in June 2007, still needs to be ratified by legislatures of both countries before it can go into effect.
"We are lobbying for the free trade agreement between Australia and Korea, ensuring that agriculture is at the forefront of this agreement," said Cameron Clark, senior policy advisor for cattle at Australia's New South Wales Farmers (NSWF), a non-government industry body.
Clark explained this meant working with the Australian government, not the South Korean government, to push forward a bilateral free trade pact.
In addition, Australia's National Farmers' Federation in July submitted a report to the Trade Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade, saying an FTA with South Korea will help promote Australia's trade and investment.
Seoul and Canberra launched negotiations for a free trade agreement in May 2009, but their talks stalled in May 2010 before being resumed in July. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said after a Seoul summit this year that the countries will work to conclude their negotiations within the year.
One of key objectives of the NSWF, which was established in 1890, is to ensure free market access for Australian products, according to Jeff Sorrell, the association's director of government relations.
Overseas agricultural shipments accounted for 11.9 percent of Australia's entire national exports with some US$34.3 billion worth of farm products shipped out last year, he said.
The beef industry makes up nearly one fourth of Australia's agricultural exports with $7.7 billion worth of meat shipped overseas in 2010.
South Korea has been one of the largest and most loyal customers of Australian beef, especially since it banned U.S. beef imports shortly after the outbreak of a case of mad cow disease in the United States in late 2003.
In 2003, the United States exported 199,400 tons of beef to South Korea, taking up 67.9 percent of South Korea's import beef market that year, while Australia shipped 64,109 tons of beef to Korea, taking a 21.8 percent market share.
South Korea removed its import ban on U.S. beef in 2006 in what is still a controversial move, and the United States is now fast catching up with Australia.
In the first seven months of this year, the United States' beef exports to South Korea jumped 33.5 percent from the same period last year, pulling up U.S. beef's market share in South Korea to 37.6 percent from 34.8 percent a year earlier, according to South Korea's Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Australia's beef exports during the cited period rose 21.9 percent on-year, but its market share dipped from 48.2 percent to 47.5 percent.
"Instead of competing with other exporters, we are focusing more on increasing South Korea's beef consumption," said an official from the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), a producer-owned company that provides marketing, research and development services to more than 47,000 cattle, sheep and goat producers of Australia.
"The MLA works to increase the overall consumption of beef and Australia has the world's best cattle industry, system and products to meet those demands," the official said.
bdk@yna.co.kr