Industry welcomes Japanese Free Trade Agreement

Australia’s recently announced free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan will mean significant gains for processed food exports, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) says.

“Australia is the first developed nation to secure an FTA with Japan so instead of playing catch-up with our competitors we are leading the way,” said AFGC CEO Gary Dawson.

“It has been a difficult negotiation because of Japan’s resistance to opening its market in key agricultural products. Any gain in these sensitive areas is hard fought.

“No party ever gets everything they want from trade negotiations and this FTA is no different, with modest gains for some of Australia’s key commodities. However, failure to finalise a deal would mean Australia faced losing market share to competitor countries in a key market.

“Japan has been Australia’s largest export market for processed food and beverage products, worth $3.1 billion in 2012-13.

“This agreement will accelerate the growth of Australian food exports into Japan to meet growing demand from Japanese consumers who value Australia’s high-quality food production.

“Improved market access into high-value markets like Japan is vital for the future of Australia’s food and grocery sector. The benefits will flow to a broad range of Australian food and grocery manufacturing companies, large and small.

“Japan is Australia’s third-largest investor, with an investor stock of $126.4 billion, and recently this investment has extended to sectors including food and agribusiness. Australia’s global competitiveness will be greatly enhanced if this FTA leads to an acceleration of investment in strategic sectors such as food and agribusiness.”