AU Lamb Looks for a Back Door to EU Market

August 8, 2008 - All is not lost for Australian sheepmeat to enter the high value European market. Despite the failure of the Doha round of trade talks, industry leaders are hopeful the fiercely protectionist European Union could buy more Australian lamb yet.

While disappointed that the talks failed to deliver given the huge potential for Australian lamb in Europe, Sheepmeat Council President Chris Groves said there were other avenues to explore.

"We need to work with individual countries, and from that point of view, we have had some success with the French," Groves said. "As a country that is soon to be a net importer of sheepmeat, it is open to the idea of accepting Australian lamb, and this has already been flagged with the French Agriculture Minister some 18 months ago when he was here in Australia."

The prized United Kingdom market will remain largely the domain of the New Zealand industry with the Doha failure, according to Groves.

"The Kiwis appear to have that one pretty well covered, despite their drop in production, so we will have to leave that great market alone for now," concluded Groves.
Reprinted in part from Stock and Land, Australia

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