Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) has delivered a blunt message to Trade Minister Don Farrell on the Australia–European Union Free Trade Agreement (EUFTA): if the Government cannot deliver a fair deal for dairy, carve us out.
Speaking directly to Minister Farrell at a National Farmers’ Federation Members’ Council meeting in Canberra this afternoon, ADF President Ben Bennett made the position of Australia’s dairy farmers clear.
“We’ve always said no deal is better than a bad deal – so cut us out,” Mr Bennett said.
He said ADF was calling for a dairy-specific exemption from new tariff concessions for European dairy imports and restrictions on established Australian dairy product names.
“The EU has protected its sensitive farm industries. Australia must do the same for dairy as a sensitive domestic industry.
“The Australian Government has agreed to open the borders to even more cheap European dairy imports, while our products still face restrictions going the other way.
“A trade deal that puts our ability to produce and process our own dairy products at risk is not in the national interest.”
The figures tell the story
In 2025-26, Australia imported $858 million worth of European dairy products – 71,912 tonnes – while exporting just $28 million, or 349 tonnes, in return.
That is an $830 million dairy trade deficit before the agreement even comes into force.
Under the deal, Australia will phase out its remaining $1.22 per kilogram tariff on European cheese over three years. Yet Australian butter, skim milk powder and high-protein whey exports will remain restricted by small duty-free quotas and substantial tariffs beyond those limits.
The agreement also introduces protections for 56 European dairy geographical indications, restricting Australian cheesemakers’ use of certain established cheese names, including future producers.
“Europe gets greater access to our market and protections for its product names. Australian dairy gets limited access in return, along with new restrictions on our own cheesemakers,” Mr Bennett said.
European farmers also benefit from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, backed by €386.6 billion in agricultural funding over 2021–27.
“Australian farmers compete without anything like that level of government support, yet we’re expected to compete with subsidised imports in our own backyard,” Mr Bennett said.
“That’s not a level playing field. It’s a one-way street.”
Mr Bennett warned that the consequences would reach well beyond supermarket shelves.
More imported dairy means greater pressure on Australian processors and farmgate demand, with regional economic and social impacts, including risks to regional jobs, and threats to food security.
“Australian dairy has already lost too many farms and factories. We cannot afford an agreement that makes it harder to produce and process milk in our own country,” Mr Bennett said.
“We’re not against trade. We’re against Minister Farrell’s bad deal.
“Opening the floodgates to subsidised European dairy imports at the expense of Australian farmers, jobs and our sovereign food production is not in the national interest. Dairy is an essential food industry and should be carved-out from this unfair agreement.”