No tariffs for imported tinned fruit, PM says

The government will not consider imposing tariffs on imported tinned fruit, the Prime Minister has told ABC Rural, despite calls from SPC Ardmona to put temporary tariff protection in place.

The Goulburn-based processor requested the government temporarily impose tariffs on imported tinned fruit after it was forced to cancel contracts with 60 stone-fruit growers.

But the Prime Minister says that specific tariffs risk retaliatory taxes on other agricultural exports. “We say, ‘Okay, we will protect a particular producer or a particular industry with a tariff’, only to find that other countries around the world who import things from Australia, including agricultural products, then retaliate with their own tariffs,” Julia Gillard said during a visit to northern Tasmania.

SPC called for the protection after its forecasts for the coming season led to a reduction of up to 50% in intake tonnages for some fruit tonnages for the 2014 season. The company says market share of imported private label canned fruit has grown to 58%, while its canned fruit share has declined to 33%. SPC’s export market volumes have declined by 90% in the past five years.

Emergency Safeguard actions are permitted under the World Trade Organisation rules. These actions would permit the imposition of an emergency tax on cheap imported foods where domestic industries are suffering injury.

According to AUSVEG Public Affairs Manager William Churchill, “A flood of imported produce is wrecking regional businesses, employers and families.”