More than accreditation needed for EU market access

All eyes are on the EU market and its potential for beef farmers, but new rules mean producers will need to meet extra criteria. See the latest.

Australian cattle producers could miss out on the benefits of any new trade deals struck with the European Union unless they meet extra criteria on top of existing certification.

In addition to EU accreditation, producers wanting to target this market must now be able to prove the geolocation of their cattle through the entire lifetime of the animal to meet the

European Union Deforestation Regulation, or EUDR.

But to date only 20 per cent of EU-accredited producers have done so, with industry warning it could cause beef supply issues.

The EU is one of Australia’s highest value beef markets, and while volumes are not large, it is still worth about $182m a year.

Any new negotiations could see greater access to the EU market, which currently imports much of its beef from the United Kingdom, but only if producers sign up to the geolocation tool.

Australian Lot Feeders’ Association chief executive officer Christian Mulders said it was essential that geolocation data was provided by producers to keep access to the EU market.

He said the red meat industry, through Integrity Systems Company, had developed a practical

geolocation tool to help the supply chain meet these requirements.

This had been built into the existing Livestock Production Assurance scheme on farm program that producers used already.

“ALFA encourages EU-accredited feedlot operators, and their suppliers, to take the necessary steps and opt in to this system to ensure their cattle remain eligible for EU supply chains,” Mr Mulders said.

“Our shared success in accessing premium international markets like the EU depends on all

parts of the supply chain working together to meet evolving requirements.”

Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive officer Tim Ryan said adoption of the geolocation tracking had been slow, with less than 20 per cent of EU-destined cattle meeting the new requirement.

“This is creating concerns of pending future disruptions to trade, due to lack of availability of EU-eligible cattle,” Mr Ryan said.

“We need a much higher rate of uptake and quickly if we are to maintain continuity of access

for Australian beef to the EU and ensure that EU-accredited farms don’t risk their investment in EU-eligibility.”

Mr Ryan said the opt-in system was voluntary but there were implications for not completing it.

”Cattle from property identification codes that have not shared geolocation data will not be eligible for EU market access, likely impacting their ability to access any EU-eligible grid premiums,” Mr Ryan said.

“While we are still six months out from the hard deadline, the fact is that feedlots and

processors are already looking to source cattle for meat production that will be exported to the

EU in 2026 and beyond.”

But the geolocation tracking is not the only challenge to meeting extra demand from the EU for Australian beef.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, which accredits farms under the EU system, said there were just 3316 producers eligible to supply the market in early June, including 120 new farms in the past financial year.

This represents less than 10 per cent of the estimated 52,000 producers across Australia.