Mr CAMPBELL —My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Deputy Prime Minister, you gave as one reason why you cannot do anything about Canadian pork imports the fact that we have an 8:1 trade surplus in relation to Canada, when in fact we have a $100 million trade deficit. Under these circumstances, don't you think it is unlikely that Canada would curtail its purchase of Australian sugar when it is the best, cleanest and cheapest sugar they can get in the world? Don't you think it is most unlikely that, under those circumstances, they would act against it?

Mr TIM FISCHER (Trade; Deputy Prime Minister) —I thank the member for Kalgoorlie for his question. He raises the difficulties being faced by the pork industry—and I might add the citrus industry. I say at the outset that the government recognises that there is no such thing as a level playing field and we deal within that parameter to help industry. In fact, taxpayers of Australia have given a $28 million leg-up for both the pork and the citrus industries by giving them help where it is needed, particularly in facilitating their longer term export strategy. The problem is the short-term, and I accept that. What have we done there? We have announced a safe guards measure under article 19, which was not activated by our predecessors but which is being activated on a generic basis with the first reference being specific to the pork industry, and the Treasurer has now signed the reference to allow that to go ahead.

To come to the particularity of the question, it is a fact that overall trade is in balance between Australia and Canada, but on agricultural goods we enjoy a surplus with Canada of about 8:1. With regard to the world, I point out that Australian farmers are so efficient that they produce five times more than we can consume in Australia, so the economic keys of hope for our farmers are represented by viably exporting to the world the other four-fifths. The House might like to know the pig meat exports, both wild and farm, from July 1997 to February 1998 country by country—I just happen to have this with me. Some $18 million worth of pork is being exported to Japan. I was at a piggery near Corowa last week seeing containers being loaded with high quality Australian brand-marked pork going to Japan. That is an expanding trade, which I welcome. We export to China, Korea and New Zealand as well. I admire and recognise the efforts by our pork industry to boost their exports. They recognise they need to do more and they need the chance to do so more. Exports to New Zealand were $4 million. Exports to Holland in Europe were $2.4 million. Exports even to the Russian federation were $2.7 million, as that economy comes back into line. Exports to France and Germany totalled over $7 million.

My colleague John Anderson, the Prime Minister, John Howard, and I recognise fully that the pork and citrus industries are in a very difficult part of their cycle. We have no magic wands and we have no false solutions for them, but we do have specific targeted help to boost their export efforts, including from the Queensland pork industry, to the world.

Finally, it is the sugar industry itself which has voiced concern about what Canada may or may not do. I do not make any specific comment on that, other than to say that at this stage it is in essence hypothetical. We are going about this in a workman-like way so that the action that may or may not be taken based on the commission inquiry will be unchallengeable by Canada or anybody else.