AUSVEG backs calls from Australia’s Trade Minister Senator Don Farrell for all sides of politics to support the passage of the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement (A-EU FTA).
News this March that a long-awaited agreement on the A-EU FTA had been reached between the Australian and European Union governments was welcomed by Australia’s vegetable industry, which has been buffeted by years of extremely challenging operating conditions, and the more recent impacts of the Middle East conflict.
An enacted A-EU FTA will benefit Australia’s vegetable industry through the elimination of tariffs on Australian vegetables into Europe. Australian onion growers in particular stand to reap benefits from this improved international trading position, having lost significant market share since the New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement (NZ-EU FTA) was enacted in Mid-2024.
In the early 2000s, Australia exported 40,000 tonnes of onions per annum to the European market. That trade volume fell to 10,000 tonnes in 2024 and declined by almost half again in 2025 when the NZ-EU FTA commenced. This is why the tariff elimination achieved during FTA negotiations for Australian onions entering the EU is critical for our onion exporters to regain competitiveness and market share in the 450 million consumer European market.
The elimination of tariffs under the A–EU FTA will improve the competitiveness of Australian onions in Europe and provide a critical opportunity to rebuild Australian onion market share across the region.
AUSVEG CEO Michael Coote said supporting the passage of the A-EU FTA is particularly important in the context of the current severe operating challenges facing Australian vegetable growers.
“Even before the severe impacts and production cost surges flowing from the Middle East conflict hit Australian vegetable growers, four in five were telling AUSVEG they would leave the industry if they had a viable exit strategy, because of years of challenging operating conditions.
“Since the commencement of the war in the Middle East, the outlook for vegetable growers has only worsened. Production costs have surged, the consumer cost of living crisis has stifled returns to growers here in Australia, and vegetable export activities to the major Middle East market remain severely disrupted.
“Australian vegetable growers need every market opportunity they can get right now, and the European FTA is one of those rare, and possibly never-to-be-repeated opportunities.
“This deal needs to be enacted now, because Australian vegetable growers can’t hold on for much longer. That’s not only bad news for potential European customers, but for Australian consumers who depend on Aussie growers for 98 percent of the fresh vegetable consumed here every year.
“Just like with the immigration debate, a populist stampede to stop this Free Trade Agreement risks severe collateral damage to Australian vegetable growers, and our national food security.”
About AUSVEG
AUSVEG is the national peak industry body for over 3,600 vegetable, potato and onion producers in Australia, who account for 3.8 million tonnes of vegetable production worth $6 billion in farmgate value annually. This accounts for one third of Australia’s $18.4 billion horticulture industry
