Australian citrus exporters have received a timely boost on the eve of their peak season, with another round of tariff reductions invoked in Japan.
The cuts are the third round of reductions to be made under a free trade agreement between the two nations, finalised in January last year.
Under the deal, the tariff on oranges has immediately fallen from 16 per cent to 11.6 per cent. The duty on mandarins has reduced from 17 per cent to 13.8 per cent, while the tariff on grapefruit has declined from 10 per cent to 5 per cent.
The preliminary round of cuts, made in 2015, helped boost exports of oranges to Japan to record levels last year, with a growth of 14.4 in sales revenues, equating to A$36m.
There latest round of reductions will also bring significant benefits to juice exports. Since the trade pact came into force, the tariff on citrus juices without added sugar has fallen from as high as 25 per cent to 4 per cent.
Australian trade minister, Steven Ciobo,said the Japan-Australia agreement, and those with South Korea and China, are making exporting a more attractive prospect by guaranteeing new levels of access to these markets.
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