Market Access and Trade Policy

Dairy Australia supports international trade negotiations by coordinating the development and input of aligned industry positions and priorities, as well as providing technical input regarding the conditions of access to global markets under multilateral, regional and bilateral negotiations.

Market Access

Exporting dairy products to all markets around the world requires satisfying the regulations of Australia’s own export regulations as well as meeting those of the importing country.

Individual countries can establish there own set of rules for allowing products to enter their market (just as Australia requires all imported foods to comply with the FSANZ Food Standards Code).

Access to markets may also require exporters to satisfy specific conditions such as religious certification, shelf life conditions, establishment or product registrations, labelling inclusions, and more, that are not proportionate to food safety risks. Such requirements are considered technical barriers to trade (TBT).

Dairy Australia works with the dairy industry and the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE), to raise such issues with the importing country authorities and discuss any technical barriers to trade. The discussions aim to reach a solution where the driver for the existence of the TBT is understood, and the information can be provided in a way that is manages risk, rational, and cost effective.

For further information on requirements and regulations, including importing country requirements please see the DAWE website here.

Free-trade Agreements

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are international treaties between countries to reduce and eliminate barriers to trade. Find out more about FTAs important for Australian dairy from the links below. In addition you can search for all Australian FTA at the DFAT website.

Agreement	Overview
China-Australia Free Trade Agreement	ChAFTA entered into force on 20 December 2015 with the staged removal of dairy export tariffs within 4-11 years.
Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement	JAEPA brought immediate Australia-only duty free quotas for a number of dairy products. These did not include fresh milk milk powders, butter and dairy spreads.
UK AUSTRALIA	An 'Agreement in Principle' for a Free Trade Agreement was made with the United Kingdom (UK) in June 2021. The agreement brings the eventual removal of all dairy tariffs and quotas in the interim.
ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement	The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement was signed by the 10 member countries of ASEAN, Australia, in February 2009. AANZFTA has eliminated many of the tariffs remaining on the bilateral agreements already in force.
Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership	Entering into force on 5 July 2020, the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is great news for the Australian dairy industry. Remaining tariffs on liquid milk will be eliminated by 2033.
Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement	Building on benefits from AANZFTA, MAFTA brings a liberalised licensing arrangement for liquid milk exporters, allowing access for higher value retail products
Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement	Entering into force in 2005, TAFTA predates AANZFTA.
Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement	The Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) came into effect on 28 July 2003, also predating AANZFTA.