UK free trade deal is in effect, this is what's in it for ag

Australia exported around $795 million worth of agricultural goods to the UK in 2022, but it's difficult to put a dollar value on what the new deal will be worth to the industry, as it will be dictated by the demand of UK customers.

Wine, beef, sheep meat, grains, rice, sugar, and dairy products will all benefit from duty-free quotas or tariff elimination.

Due to the distance and saturation of the UK market, agribusiness experts believe the trade deal will most benefit premium and high-value Australian produce.

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The UK, with a population of 67 million, imports all of its rice. Australian company SunRice's will look to take advantage of the new tariff-free arrangement to compete with the predominant Indian and Japanese imports.

SunRice Group chairman Laurie Arthur said it was not an overstatement to say the UK FTA was "the most significant market access outcome" for Australian rice the government had delivered in recent memory.

"This FTA will ensure yet another high-value market for our premium-branded products... [and] provides a real benefit economic for the Australian economy," Mr Arthur said.

The UK is one of the largest consumers of honey worldwide and imports around 90pc of its honey, which Queensland-based honey supplier Capilano will look to capitalise on, the company's chief operating operator Ben McKee says.

"The success of honeybees in Australia is chiefly due to our unique native eucalypt forests, which provide pollen and nectar throughout the season, maximising hive health and nutrition," Dr McKee said.

"Australia's island existence and geographical isolation mean our honeybees survive without the complications of many of the honeybee diseases that require repeated pesticide and antibiotic treatments elsewhere in the world."

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Trade Minister Don Farrell said the trade agreement was another step in the government's trade diversification agenda and would help tackle the cost of living crisis in Australia by removing the five per cent tariff on UK-made goods.

"When trade flows freely, the benefits are felt across virtually all aspects of everyday life," Senator Farrell said.

"More trade means more well-paying jobs, more national income, more opportunities for business and a lower cost of living."

National Farmers' Federation vice president David Jochinke said along with improving access for producers to an important market, the deal also enhanced cooperation on key regulatory issues, including biosecurity, animal welfare and antimicrobial resistance.