The eyes of the world, including a global audience of about 25 million visits, will be on Western Australia when the State joins the world stage at Expo 2020 Dubai.  Held every five years, the World Expo will be hosted by Dubai from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, after it was delayed by COVID-19.

It is the first World Expo to be hosted in the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates Government is investing more than US$9 billion into assorted infrastructure, activities and initiatives.

WA has partnered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is working closely with Austrade to promote the State’s unique set of strengths and capabilities across multiple sectors at the event.

WA’s presence at Expo 2020 Dubai will be supported by the WA Government’s Dubai office and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, expanding on WA’s engagement with new markets. More information on the Expo is available at www.australiaexpo2020.com.  Source:  Invest and Trade WA / JTSI  | Photo DFAT [Australia Pavilion Expo 2020 Dubai]

The Federal Government has provided an additional $260.9 million to maintain the critical airfreight links between Australian businesses and their international customers to the middle of 2022.

Since April 2020 $1.04 billion has been committed to the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM), ensuring Australian businesses continue getting their products to existing international customers, including Western rock lobster and native flowers from Western Australia.

The latest IFAM outbound and inbound flights are available on the IFAM website. Exporters should speak to their freight forwarder and visit the IFAM website for further assistance.  For more information, please email Austrade at airfreight@austrade.gov.au, or DPIRD's International Airfreight Coordinator, Terry Burnage, at terry.burnage@dpird.wa.gov.au. Source:  Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment / IFAM / DPIRD  |  Image:  IFAM / Austrade

Agriculture and food ministers from the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies have reaffirmed their commitment to an open, transparent, productive, sustainable and resilient APEC food system by launching a new 10-year food security roadmap.

Nearly 2.37 billion people lacked access to adequate food in 2020, a rise of 320 million in just one year, according to a World Bank policy brief.  A report by the Global Network Against Food Crises found that the number of people facing acute food insecurity who need urgent life and livelihood-saving assistance hit a five-year high in 2020.

Against this backdrop, APEC ministers convened at their annual APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security last week, chaired by New Zealand Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor, and adopted the APEC Food Security Roadmap Towards 2030.

The roadmap – which highlights the ability of an innovative, digitally enabled economy to better recover from COVID-19 disruptions and thrive – details goals and key action areas where APEC is well-placed to help ensure people always have access to sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.  Source and Photo:  APEC

Women in Western Australia's agrifood export sector are being encouraged to apply for the 2022 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award and the new AgriFutures Rural Women’s Acceleration Grant, which opened yesterday.

The Rural Women’s Award is Australia’s leading rural award empowering and celebrating the inclusive and courageous leadership of women involved in Australia’s rural and emerging industries, businesses, and communities.  Each State and Territory winner receives a $15,000 bursary provided by Westpac, as well as access to professional development opportunities and national alumni networks.  Applications close on 8 October 2021.

The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Acceleration Grant – also open until 8 October 2021 – is a new program developed to foster growth and development in women involved in Australia’s rural and emerging industries, businesses and communities.  Seven Australian women each year will be granted with a learning and development bursary of $7,000 to enable them to bring their idea, cause or vision to life.  More...  Source:  AgriFutures Australia  |  Related:  'There are so many rural women doing amazing things'  Source:  Queensland Country Life  |  Photo:  AgriFutures Australia [2019 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award national winner, Jo Palmer, a New South Wales remote work advocate.]

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia (CCIWA) has commenced a collaborative research project with Austrade, the WA Government Investment and Trade Office in India, and the Indian fishing body Marine Products Export Development Authority to address food security in the region.

The Sustainable Commercial Fisheries Collaboration aims to develop cooperation between India and WA in the wild caught harvest and post-harvest areas of India’s commercial fishing sector to mitigate food insecurity through the use of WA equipment, technology, services and skills training.

The project – involving CCIWA working with the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development – commenced on 1 July 2021 and will continue through to 30 June 2022.

For more information on the project, please contact Michael Carter, Manager, International Trade and Investment Centre, CCIWA, email michael.carter@cciwa.com, or visit the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.  Source:  CCIWA / DFAT  |  Photo:  National Fisheries Development Board, India

There are now more e-commerce consumers in China than in Europe and the United States of America combined, Austrade reports.  In the last year alone, 72 million e-commerce shoppers joined this total.

But how does this create opportunities for Australian exporters?  Austrade's Dane Richmond in Shanghai investigates, in the latest China insights video.

Austrade says China’s e-commerce customers like 'clean, green’ Australian goods, expert advice is needed to access this competitive market, and exporters need to carefully select the best platforms for their products.

Austrade is sharing monthly China e-commerce insights to help exporters navigate into China. These insights will also help exporters to grasp e-commerce trends in China.  More...  Source and Photo: Austrade