Post-Brexit trade deal a ‘unique opportunity’ for South Australia, says Premier Steven Marshall
SA’s multibillion-dollar wine industry is tipped to be a big winner from the historic breakaway of the UK from the EU.
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Brexit is being hailed as a “unique opportunity” for South Australia after bushfires and the deadly coronavirus hit trade this summer.
The United Kingdom will officially leave the European Union on Friday (SA time) following three and a half years of drawn-out negotiations and political turmoil. And SA’s multibillion-dollar wine industry is tipped to be a big winner from the historic breakaway.
Australia is now seeking to negotiate a free trade deal with Britain by December.
Premier Steven Marshall said Brexit would be a “unique opportunity to diversify and enter new markets” for SA exporters – particularly wine producers.
“There are huge opportunities ahead for all South Australian exporters, which will generate more business leads and importantly create more local jobs,” Mr Marshall said.
The opportunity comes amid concerns the coronavirus outbreak could affect wine and premium beef markets if it drags on and Chinese citizens go out and entertain less.
Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said he would start negotiations “as soon as the UK is ready”, and aimed to secure a deal by year’s end.
“These are trying times for many parts of our tourism sector and our exporters, who have faced losses and continue to face significant losses as a result of the bushfires,” he told The Advertiser.
“That’s why it’s important that we make sure that, as they recover, there are new opportunities for them to be able to grow new export markets and seize the greatest value for their premium produce.”
The Minister met with UK Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss between Christmas and New Year. He flagged that Australia wanted low or no tariffs and no quotas or generous ones. “We want this to be as open a trading partnership as it possibly can be,” he said.
Wine was “critically important”, and every bottle that landed on a UK table was “an advert for Australia, and mainly for South Australia,” he said.
“That provides an opportunity for other premium value-added produce, be it meats, horticulture or other commodities, to leverage off that strong reputation.”
Business SA spokesman Anthony Penney said a deal that made SA exports more competitive was “absolutely paramount”.
He highlighted how heavily dependent some markets were on China, and the need to diversify in case of incidents like the coronavirus. He said growing the UK relationship should therefore be “at the government’s front of mind”.
SA’s exported $412.9 million of goods to Britain last year – a fraction of the state’s $11.7 billion total output, and significantly less than its $2.73 billion exports to China.
Meat, fruits, wool, steel, iron and electrical machinery were other top exports.
Good news for hills
The SA wine industry has welcomed the prospect of the British market opening up through a free-trade deal.
Alcohol is SA’s biggest export to the UK and it produced more than half of Australia’s $400.5 million alcohol exports to Britain last year.
That could grow dramatically, with the two countries keen to sign a trade deal by the end of 2020 after Britain officially leaves the European Union today. It comes amid good news that some Adelaide Hills vineyards were not as badly hit as first thought by the Cudlee Creek fire.
“Some vineyards that we thought were severely damaged are not as severely damaged,” SA Wine Industry Association chief executive Brian Smedley said.
There would be a drop in yield for some growers this year but “as to what the flow-on effects are for trade, it’s far too early to say,” he said.