Free Trade Deal with China

Well the so-called 'free trade' deal with China has been negotiated. The deal has been widely welcomed even though the full implications for Australian agricultural businesses have yet to be realised -  Here are a few statistics which suggest there may be some problems for major egg producers in this country who could face stiff competition.

In 1998, the output volume of poultry eggs in China first reached 20 million tons,  over four times that of the U.S., accounting for almost 40% of the global poultry egg output volume. In 2012, the output volume of poultry eggs in China totalled 28.612 million tons.

In terms of international trade, the export value of eggs and egg products from China in 2012 was USD 177.13 million, showing an annual growth of over 2%. The export value of eggs to other countries in the asian region was USD 166.688 million.

Food for thought for the big boys! But they don't care about anyone else so why should we care about them.

No agreement on the TPP

Many people are celebrating the lack of agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership after four days of negotiations in Singapore.

It's clear that support for such a massive free trade agreement involving 12 countries is waning as some of the individual countries see little value for their own economies.  Major sticking points concern market access and differences over tariffs on imported goods.

Negotiators had initially hoped that a draft agreement would emerge from the talks and that a deal would be ready in April.

But arguments over the issues of tariffs on specific goods have proved difficult to overcome.

Agricultural tariffs are particularly sensitive for Japan, which is trying to protect its rice, wheat, beef and pork as well as dairy and sugar, from outside competition.

Some other TPP members (such as Australia) with large agricultural production available for export, are pushing for the elimination of all tariffs. Industries in some countries would be decimated by the complete removal of tariffs.