Farmer Bill happy with trade agreement.

BEAU ROBINSON

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement has got many farmers in Australia excited about what it will mean for their produce and in turn their pockets.

Under this deal 98 per cent of tariffs across TPP countries will be slashed on products including beef, dairy, wine, sugar, rice, horticulture, seafood, manufactured products, resources and energy.

The deal includes countries including Australia, Canada, the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. These countries count for 40% of the entire global economy.

The Australian agriculture sector is one of the biggest winners of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. The agreement will ensure that there are new markets to be accessed as well as a reduction on tariffs for red meat and dairy.

It is hoped there will be up to a $1 billion return for Australian farmers according to the National Farmers Federation.

Malcolm Turnbull was supportive in his praise for the agreements and the prospects of getting more Australian meat, sugar and cheese to new overseas markets.

“We need access to as many markets as we can get”.

Dave Leigo, or ‘Bill’ as he is better known, is a cattle farmer in the far North Western corner of New South Wales. He says anything that helps increase demand for Australian beef and makes it more accessible for the international market is a good thing.

“Of course it’s good if we can get our beef os(sic), we produce more than we can handle ourselves. Our beef is very highly regarded and countries want it, so this’ll definitely help get it over there”.

Fourth generation dairy farmer Will Miller, of Berri, NSW is excited about the agreement and the potential it will have on dairy farmers and more importantly cheese producers on the NSW South Coast.

“It’s pretty tough going the dairy industry in Australia at the moment. We need to be able to keep up with our international competition, especially New Zealand”.

I’ll be thanking a famer for my next meal, and hopefully more people overseas will soon be thanking an Australian farmer for their next meal too.