National Farmers' Federation president David Crombie said the failure was a lost opportunity to place Australian farmers on a level playing field against their competitors, but also to lift the world's poorest from poverty.

"The collapse, caused by hard-line demands for unacceptable flexibilities in agricultural and non-agricultural market access by countries, such as India, has cost Australian farmers the opportunity to export to new and expanded markets and set back the Doha Round of WTO negotiations," Mr Crombie said.

"The entrenched positions that led to the breakdown show scant regard to the urgent need for reform and have greatly undermined global food security."

The NFF says that for Australian farmers the failure to reach a deal in Geneva means:

* the European Union, the United States and some developing countries, such as India, maintain the ability to use export subsidies;

* agricultural domestic support limits will not be reduced in OECD countries; and

* market access will not be improved.

The Sheepmeat Council of Australia is particularly disappointed, given it had high hopes of expanding the industry's access to the EU market.

"The very outdated and unfair EU quota system means that Australia’s limited access only provides EU consumers with the equivalent of one-third of a lamb cutlet each year," Sheepmeats Council president Chris Groves said.

"The sad irony is that, as local EU production and consumption of lamb and sheepmeat continues to fall, EU consumers remain locked out of experiencing high quality and competitively priced Aussie lamb.

"The fear is that lamb may drop right off the menu for European meat eaters, which would be a disaster."

Australia's EU quota access is restricted to 18,786 tonnes (carcase weight) compared to 227,854t for New Zealand, some 12 times more than Australia.