After the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement was signed, the agricultural sector became a hot spot for capital
According to the preliminary agreement reached in the negotiations on the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the China-Australia Free Trade Area agreement will reduce each side's market access barriers. Australia's greatest concern in the free trade agreement is the access of its agricultural products to the Chinese market. China's main concern in the free trade agreement negotiations is the qualifications for Chinese enterprises to enter Australia and certain restrictive clauses.
According to reports, after the agreement is implemented, products exported from Australia to China will receive about 1.001 billion USD in tariff reductions, with the products receiving relatively high tariff reductions concentrated in energy, steel and metal products, and among agricultural products beef, wool, other agricultural products, dairy products, and so on.
Australian Trade Commission commercial commissioner Susan told the media in March that Australia is one of China's largest suppliers of agricultural and fish products, and that under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, agricultural products exported from Australia to China will have tariffs reduced in stages: all dairy product tariffs will be eliminated over 4-11 years, with some currently applied tariffs as high as 20%; the 12%-20% tariff on wine will be eliminated within 4 years; most tariffs on all horticultural products will be eliminated within 4 years, with some currently applied tariffs as high as 30%; the 10% tariff on exports of live animals will be eliminated within 4 years. The agreement will continuously increase the scale of Australia's exports to China and provide high-quality agricultural products to China's domestic middle class.
At present, China's tariff on beef imported from Australia is 12%-25%. Under the arrangements of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, the beef import tariff will be eliminated within 9 years. The current 12%-23% tariff on mutton will be eliminated within 8 years, and in addition, China's 3% tariff on barley imported from Australia will also be reduced to zero. After the agreement takes effect, tariffs on beef and mutton, wine, dairy products, lobster, abalone and other products imported by China from Australia will be gradually reduced. This also means that consumers will pay lower prices when buying Australian imported agricultural products, dairy products and other products.
The reduction in tariffs will bring a series of positive effects, including lowering enterprises' import costs, easing consumers' payment pressure, and boosting the confidence of investors in the agricultural sectors of both countries. There is no doubt that China's agriculture and animal husbandry will welcome new development opportunities after the agreement is signed. Some securities analysts said that the signing and implementation of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will help deepen cooperation among enterprises and mergers and acquisitions and integration among industries, and promote deeper cooperation between the two countries in the agriculture and food sectors.
After the China-Australia Free Trade Area agreement is signed, the animal husbandry and agriculture sectors will be the first to benefit. These sectors are conducive both to stimulating consumption and to promoting exports. Specifically in the capital market, a number of listed companies have already established a presence in Australia and are involved in many areas of business including beef cattle breeding.