• Cutting Red Tape - we need your input!
• Our free trade proposals are in!
• Australia lands international health conference
• Fish names branding — rolling out!
• SSA Network News
• Seafood Trade & Market Access Forum
• Key dates and upcoming SSA events

Download a PDF version of SSA News

Cutting Red Tape - we need your input!

The seafood industry has to reduce its costs to be more competitive in the domestic and global economy.

Seafood businesses have become increasingly concerned and frustrated in recent years about the costs of complying with regulations. Responding to this, the SSA Board has made red tape reduction one of its top priorities and has committed SSA resources to tackling this problem head-on.

As Geoff Gorrie, SSA’s chairman, says: ‘Reducing the costs of complying with regulations throughout the seafood supply chain is just as important as improving financial returns through increased market access and higher product prices’.

The first step, a desktop review by SSA, has now been completed. It identifies areas where significant cost reductions may be achieved by removing burdensome and unnecessary regulation, streamlining regulatory requirements within and between jurisdictions, and gaining mutual recognition across private sector and government services (such as food safety and export audits, etc) to reduce duplication.

For the second step, much more specific information is needed about the true extent of the red tape problem. SSA will be gathering this through an industry-wide survey. Industry people at the SSA Network meeting on 6th November studied the draft and introduced refinements so that it will target the problems well.

The survey will target the entire seafood supply chain — including the aquaculture production sector, the wild harvest fishing sector and the seafood processing, distribution and retail sectors.

Second step — we really need your help

Here’s the crunch. For this survey, we need a response rate that’s much higher than usual for surveys, for two important reasons:

• A much clearer picture is needed of the current problems faced by industry so that SSA can prioritise them so that the most serious get the most effort, and quantify the costs of compliance and the potential savings that can be achieved.
• To be credible, SSA needs to demonstrate to federal, state and local governments that the information we are presenting is factual, based on the opinions of a large sample of the entire industry.

All of your views will be collated into a detailed report to be compiled by SSA early in the new year, which will be the foundation of SSA’s representations to governments.

To make sure you receive the survey when it’s distributed, make sure you’re signed on to the SSA mailing list (www.seafood.net.au). More information: Col Bishop, cbishop@seafoodservices.com.au or 1300 130 321.

Top

Our free trade proposals are in!

The Seafood Access Forum meeting in June set a top priority on incorporating our industry’s needs into Australia’s negotiations on two Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Last month, this was achieved when the Australian Government lodged its proposals for the Australia–Japan and Australia-China FTAs.

These two agreements are hugely important to Australia and the seafood industry, since they profoundly affect our competitiveness.

The Japanese market is the second-biggest for Australian seafood ($374 million in 2006–07) and the recent depreciation in the exchange rate between Australian dollars and Japanese yen is expected to increase our exports to that country. However, in its trade negotiations with Australia, Japan has sought to exclude a wide range of agricultural products from tariff elimination. The current offer on seafood falls well short of what we are seeking. The Australian Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is therefore discussing this in the seventh round of FTA discussions presently under way.

The Chinese market is the fourth-biggest for Australian seafood ($60 million in 2006–07). Fisheries output in China has grown from 1 to 10 per cent of total agricultural output in 30 years. Importantly, this rapid growth in fisheries production in China has been achieved when tariffs on imported seafood products have been reduced significantly — from as high as 80 per cent to their current levels of about 15 per cent. The great potential for increased fisheries production in China (particularly through aquaculture) provides an ideal opportunity for much more technical cooperation between Australia and China. Australia’s capabilities in fisheries administration, science, food safety and food quality are complementary to China’s.

In its FTA negotiations with China, Australia is seeking an outcome on fisheries products and related matters at least as favourable as that achieved under the China–New Zealand FTA, not least because Australia has other significant fisheries export interests not covered by the China–New Zealand FTA.

Under the China–New Zealand FTA all fisheries products for which current tariffs are 5 per cent or less become duty-free immediately, and tariffs currently greater than 5 percent will be progressively phased out over a period of five years.

SSA initiated the Seafood Access Forum to be an industry-driven process in which companies, associations and government agencies participate as equal partners on trade access.

The speed with which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has taken our views on board has been very encouraging.

If you would like to receive more information or give your views, SSA’s trade project officer, Simon Liu (0438 447 899 or simonliu@seafoodservices.com.au), will be delighted to hear from you.

Top

Our industry is now benefiting from the experience and enthusiasm in trade relations of Simon Liu, SSA’s Trade Project Officer. Simon is coordinating seafood industry input to Australia’s Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

Australia lands international health conference

Australia will host an international health conference that will attract hundreds of researchers and practitioners from around the world.

Seafood and Health 2010, to be organised jointly by Australian and United States organisations, will review the latest research on the health benefits of seafood and recommend how they can be applied to improve the health of people throughout the world.

Roy Palmer, spokesman for the Australian organising committee, says the conference will have the potential to generate significant improvements in the health and wellbeing of Australians of all ages. He said ‘This is not a fisheries conference, it’s a health conference — one where the participants share a common interest in seafood. It will communicate information about the latest medical research into the health impacts of seafood.

‘This is very much about prevention being better than cure, and about the right foods and lifestyle reducing chronic disease in Australia, saving literally thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars a year in health costs. New discoveries and a deeper understanding of the health benefits of seafood are occurring at a rapid rate.

’The conference will attract many of the world's leading health researchers, medical practitioners, nutrition educators and policy-makers. Probably there will be about 500 participants from 50 or more countries. The venue is yet to be decided. Further information: Roy Palmer, 0419 528 733.

Top

Fish names branding — rolling out!

The Fish Names Brand Scheme has been widely promoted around Australia, and was launched in Cairns and Darwin with similar levels of interest we reported for the inaugural launch in the last issue of SSA News.

The scheme was promoted to industry at the Australasian Aquaculture conference, Fine Food Melbourne and the Good Food and Wine Show in Brisbane.

It also made a splash in print media, including The Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, Courier Mail, Canberra Times and Hobart Mercury, and in Food & Drink Business and Eatdrink magazines. Paid advertisements were lodged in the Hobart Mercury, local papers and Eatdrink magazine.

On 1st September, more than 30 people, including the local member and mayor, attended the launch at the Cairns Cruising Yacht Squadron. The scheme attracted radio, television and press coverage. Darwin’s launch, on 9th October, also triggered local and national television and radio coverage. The NT minister for fisheries presented the first NT license to the Darwin Fish Market.