The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement has provided plenty of opportunity for exporters of niche and specialty products from Western Australia.
According to the latest Western Australian Agri-Food and Fibre Industry Outlook, released by the Department of Agriculture, olive oil exports to the US have risen from $1,080 in 2004-05 to $648,364 in 2005-06, after the AUSFTA eliminated tariffs of US3.4 cents per kg.
Therapeutic essential oil exports from WA to the US have increased three-fold in the period, up from $468,020 to more than $1.3 million.
Department of Agriculture international trade policy officer, Valerie Kelly, says the WA olive industry is relatively new but is growing rapidly, and in the past 18 months has developed the capacity to tackle more sophisticated markets, such as the US.
“WA is increasing its reputation for producing very high quality olive oil, and we may eventually see WA olive oil displace the traditional producers such as the Europeans,” Ms Kelly told WA Business News.
Similarly, the essential oil industry has increased its profile, experiencing an increase in exports to the Middle East and Thailand, as well as the US.
The report also highlights that, despite tariff reductions provided by the AUSFTA, WA wine exports to the US dropped 28.5 per cent over the period, largely as a consequence of competition from Chile and Brazil, among other suppliers.
“The difficulty with the WA wine industry is that there are the bigger, more established players who are doing well in the export market, but there are also some new players entering the market with no established record who do not have the capacity to compete with cheaper imports,” Ms Kelly said.
The report also suggests that industries such as beef and dairy have failed to capitalise on any of the concessions made under the AUSFTA, with the opportunities presented by the US market seemingly outweighed by opportunities presented by more established markets in north Asia and South-East Asia.
