Local and overseas consumers can enjoy more of the iconic dark burgundy Bravo apples developed in Western Australia, with one million more kilograms of the delicious fruit set to be produced this year.

Harvest of the distinctive fruit is now under way at orchards in the Perth Hills, Manjimup and Donnybrook, which is predicted to see a significant increase in availability as plantings expand and trees mature.

About 3,000 tonnes of the fruit, produced from the variety known as ANABP 01, which meets the grade to be branded as Bravo, will be picked across Australia over the next four weeks.

While supplies in local retail stores will increase in coming weeks, the appealing apple has also struck a chord with overseas customers with Bravo apples securing a slice of the high end retail market in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

This is just the sixth harvest of Bravo apples, which were developed in WA over two decades by DPIRD which continues to work on new varieties via the Australian National Apple Breeding Program.  More...  Source:  WA Minister for Agriculture and Food  |  Photo:  DPIRD [L-R: DPIRD Bravo apple breeder Steele Jacob, WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan. Kurragullen orchardist John Vetta.]

Last week agri-business development experts McKinna et al engaged with 30 businesses in Perth and 20 South-West businesses in Bunbury keen to share their business growth perspectives gained from working across multiple industry sectors over four decades.  

Dr David McKinna and Catherine Wall were in WA at the invitation of DPIRD's Agribusiness Food and Trade Partnering for Customer Value (P4CV) team, having authored three of the 11 cases underpinning the P4CV project: Mountain Milk, SunLychee and Exotico Tropical Fruits, and OBE Organic Beef.

Dr McKinna delivered invaluable insights on business growth, “The Ten Commandments of Partnering”, illustrated with business practices from the McKinna portfolio of business development experience, including strong themes from their P4CV case studies.

Focusing on how best to identify opportunities to unlock more value for WA agribusinesses, Dr McKinna reviewed options for growing the value of what a business produces as well as capturing more of the value in the value chain. He said the key to becoming a price maker – not a price taker – is to use collaboration as the catalyst for building value.

DPIRD's P4CV lead Joan Lim encouraged all participants to access online videos, blog posts and case studies profiling agribusinesses in the horticulture, livestock, dairy, grains, seafood and processed foods sectors, across small, medium and large enterprises.

The Patterns of Success report, in particular, highlights business practices employed by successful exporters who have employed business partnering to bat well above their weight in international markets.  Source and Photo:  DPIRD

A webinar next week will provide invaluable insights directly from customers and market updates from the gatekeepers of the food and beverage (F&B) sectors in six of the major Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets.

Organised by the ASEAN Food and Drink Exporters Forum, the event will host a panel of directors and senior executives of leading food and beverage import and distribution businesses from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Each importer will provide insights on:

• The status of the F&B sector in their market.
• Current challenges in market.
• Current opportunities in market.
• Key criteria they use for assessing new brand distribution opportunities.

The event takes place at 11 am AWST on 6 May 2021 and tickets cost SGD$19 (approximately AUD$18.50).  Interested participants can use the discount code WAGUEST until close of business on 5 May to waive the registration fee. Only a limited number of free registrations are available.

For enquiries about doing business in the ASEAN region, please contact the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation's Invest and Trade Western Australia team at investandtrade@jtsi.wa.gov.au, or the DPIRD team at export@dpird.wa.gov.au​.  More...  Source and Photo:  Incite, Singapore

Australian agribusiness exporters are swapping their passports for their computers and going online to find new markets and customers.  With international travel off limits for now, virtual trade events are delivering new opportunities for Australian businesses to diversify and expand their markets.

Australia’s top-quality food products were a hit at a virtual showcase in Japan organised by Austrade last month.  More than 140 Australian businesses participated in the Australian Food and Beverage Virtual Showcase Japan 2021.

Held from 1 to 31 March 2021, the online event reached around 1,800 buyers across Japan.  While many of the companies in the showcase were already exporting to Japan, it's a new market that's highly promising for others.  More...  Source:  Austrade  |  Photo:  Chris Montgomery / Unsplash

The Australian Government has secured an important victory for Australian wine makers, after reaching an agreement that will ensure Australian wines can access the Canadian market on a level playing field.

The development, which will phase out ‘discriminatory’ measures in the province of Quebec, is the last in a course of repeals made since negotiations started in 2018.

The dispute action, lodged with the World Trade Organisation, set out to appeal against measures that were negatively affecting Australia’s wine exports at the federal level and four major regions in the country (British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec).

It's welcome news for Australian wine makers who can anticipate growth and opportunity in the Great White North, which is Australia’s fourth largest wine export destination worth more than $192 million a year.

Exports to Canada from Western Australia are currently dominated by meat, with lamb and sheep exports valued at $19.3 million and $4.07 million respectively in 2019-20. Wine exports were the third largest at $1.7 million in 2019-20.  More...  Source:  Australian Minister for Trade /  DPIRD  |  Photo: DFAT

The World Bank’s Agricultural Price Index increased more than 9% in the first quarter of 2021, building on the previous quarter’s momentum.  Prices are 20% higher than a year ago, an almost seven-year high.

The gains have been driven by the recovery in global economic activity, strong demand from China, as well as some specific supply shortfalls, including for some food commodities.

The World Bank expects agricultural prices to stabilise in 2022, following a 13% increase this year.  More...  Source:  World Bank  |  Related:  Agri commodity prices up 15% since March, wheat up 20%  Source:  Rabobank  |  Graphic:  World Bank