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Australian dairy industry

Industry Commission inquiry report

This report was signed by the Commissioners on 26 September 1991 and subsequently released by the Commonwealth Government. The report contains the findings of the Industry Commission's public inquiry.

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  • Contents

Preliminaries
Cover, Copyright, Signing Page, Terms of Reference, Contents, Abbreviations, Overview and Recommendations

1 Introduction
1.1 Origin and scope of the inquiry
1.2 What the Commission was required to do
1.3 Conduct of the inquiry
1.4 Structure of the report

2 Australian dairy industry characteristics
2.1 Size and structure of the dairy industry
2.2 Industry organisations
2.3 Markets for dairy produce
2.4 Marketing arrangements
2.5 Farm characteristics
2.6 Relative costs of producing milk in selected countries

3 The world market for dairy products
3.1 Charateristics of the world market for dairy products
3.2 Policies of the major producing and consuming countries
3.3 Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement
3.4 Multilateral trade negotiations
3.5 International dairy arrangement
3.6 Distorted world prices: implications for providing assistance
3.7 Conclusion

4 State arrangements for market milk
4.1 Regulating the supply and prices for market milk
4.2 Health and safety standards
4.3 Quality standards
4.4 Promotion of fresh milk
4.5 Efficiency effects of supply and price contrlos for market milk
4.6 Proposals for change by State governments and industry
4.7 Sourcing fresh milk by commercial contracts
4.8 Conclusion

5 Commonwealth marketing arrangements
5.1 The Kerin Plan arrangements for manufacturing milk
5.2 Market support levy and payments
5.3 Domestic prices and producer transfers
5.4 Intra-industry transfers
5.5 Efficiency costs of increased prices fro manufactured milk
5.6 Marketing milk prices and interstate trade
5.7 Conclusion
5.8 Other Commonwealth influences over dairy marketing

6 Australian Dairy Corporation
6.1 Objective and operations of the Australian Dairy Corporation
6.2 Administering the market support and underwriting arrangements
6.3 Industry information services
6.4 Generic promotion
6.5 Export marketing
6.6 Austdairy
6.7 Australian dairy industry fund
6.8 Industry loan service

7 Other forms of assistance to the dairy industry
7.1 Tariffs
7.2 Cheese tariff quota
7.3 Underwriting
7.4 Environmental issues

8 Measured assistance to the dairy industry
8.1 Purpose of measuring assistance
8.2 The Commission's estimates
8.3 Criticisms of the Commission's estimates
8.4 Policy implications of the estimates

9 Implementation and effects of the Commission's recommendations
9.1 Objectives of the recommendations
9.2 Implementation
9.3 Effects of implementing the recommendations
9.4 Conclusion

Appendices

A Public particpation in the inquiry
A1 Submissions received
A2 Industry Visits
A3 Attendance at Assistance Measurement Workshop
A4 Participants at Public Hearings

B Selected dairy industry statistics

C Details of state marketing arrangements
C1 New South Wales
C2 Victoria
C3 Queensland
C4 Western Australia
C5 South Australia
C6 Tasmania
C7 Australian Capital Territory
C8 Northern Territory

D Request for and advice from the Attorney-Generals Departrment

E Details of Commonwealth marketing arrangements
E1 Legislation
E2 Milk levies
E3 Market support payments
E4 Supplementary market support payments

F Assistance to the Australian dairy industry
F1 Assistance provided by the Kerin Plan
F2 Assistance provided by State Government control of supply and pricing of milk
F3 Nominal rates of assistance to milk production and dairy manufacturing industries
F4 Effect rates of assistance to production of milk and manufacture of dairy products

G Estimating the effects of implementing the Commission's recommendations
G1 Analytical framework
G2 The simulations
G3 Estimated impacts of the proposed reforms
G4 Conclusions

References

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