High hopes for more Aussie dairy in UAE with new trade deal

The dairy industry has welcomed Australia’s new bilateral trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with high hopes it’ll lead to an uptick in exports to the region.

Australia’s peak dairy industry representative body – the Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC) – supported the push for a trade agreement with the UAE.

“Today’s announcement by the Minister for Trade, Don Farrell, represents a strong opportunity in an important export market for Australian dairy,” ADIC Chair, Ben Bennett said.

“We congratulate Minister Farrell on the announcement, which we hope leads to improved market access for our product.

“We understand this agreement will mean more agreeable trading conditions between the two countries and look forward to seeing the detail on what that looks like for dairy.”

ADIC deputy chair, John Williams, said the UAE was Australia’s largest trade and investment partner in the Middle East.

“Through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Australia gains an advantage in trade with the major players in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

“The GCC countries collectively import approximately 900,000 tonnes of dairy product annually.

“As a combined market it’s one of the largest dairy import markets globally, roughly equivalent in size to large economies like the United Kingdom.”

“Australia is a relatively minor supplier of dairy products to the GCC region, though this has not always been the case. This agreement is bound to help Australian dairy’s competitiveness.”

ADIC looks forward to the agreement being signed next month and the real benefits this will create for the Australian dairy industry.