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A contingent of Western Australian innovators are attending Asia Pacific's leading agrifood tech conference, with support from the WA Government. evokeAG is the Asia Pacific region's largest agrifood tech event, examining the future possibilities of agrifood technology and investment.
Eight participants from WA have received $2000 in support to participate at the event, which started in Adelaide today. Their diverse fields range from tech solutions to vertical farming, seasonal employment platforms, reducing waste, farming fly larvae for protein production and waste management, and developing lupin-based plant proteins. They join Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) officers showcasing agtech development ideas and opportunities for WA.
The recipients are: Rob Kelly – Agora Livestock Markets; Steve Wildisen – Xsights Digital; Wes Lawrence – AxisTech; Julia Prichodko – Eden Towers; Nicholas Terpkos – Waytree; Chava Berrill – Nork; Claire Parker – South West Biotech; and Ben Cole – Wide Open Agriculture.
"These innovative businesses provide an exciting glimpse into what is on the horizon for agriculture and food," Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis said. "evokeAG brings together delegates from across the nation and abroad to talk about global agrifood innovation and technology trends."
The Minister said it is great to be supporting businesses which are pushing the boundaries and driving innovation in the agtech space. "Together with DPIRD, we will be showcasing what WA has to offer – high quality and reliable food production, a vibrant food and beverage export sector with close proximity and linkages to Asian markets, and a strong agtech scene," she said. More...
Source and Photo: DPIRD [evokeAG participants with DPIRD Director General Heather Brayford and DPIRD staff.]
The next round of Austrade's Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program will:
• Open at AWST 6am on Wednesday 15 March 2023.
• Close at AWST 2pm on Friday 14 April 2023.
The updated EMDG Grant Guidelines and supporting documents are now available so that you can prepare to apply ahead of the EMDG online portal opening to applications. Applications will be open for 4 weeks. The EMDG portal will be available for applications from Wednesday 15 March. More...
Related: EMDG Operational Review report | Source: Austrade | Photo: Timelab Pro / Unsplash [Port of Hong Kong]
The Great Australian Seafood brand will be represented at North America’s largest seafood trade exposition Seafood Expo North America in Boston, United States, from 12 to 14 March 2023.
Seafood Industry Australia (SIA), in collaboration with Austrade and Australian seafood producers, will be attending the expo to develop and extend export opportunities for our Great Australian Seafood.
Australian companies involved in the event will be: Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod; Australian Longline; Clean Seas Seafood Limited; Ferguson Australia; Fremantle Octopus; Geraldton Fishermen's Co-operative; Huon Aquaculture; Kansom Australia; Kin Southern Bluefin Tuna; Mainstream Aquaculture; Rare Foods Australia; Sea Harvest; South Australian Lobster Company; True South Seafoods; and Yumbah Aquaculture.
Attendees will also participate in an Austrade-led market immersion event, and a buyer meet-and-greet. For further information, please contact SIA at info@seafoodindustryaustralia.com.au.
Source and Image: SIA
The 2022-23 grain harvest in Western Australia has officially ended, with growers across the State producing just over 26 million tonnes (mt), which is worth $10 billion to the WA economy.
The figure is eight per cent higher than the previous record, set just one year prior in the 2021-22 season, and means that WA growers have produced just over 50mt of grain in the past two years, compared to about 60mt over the previous four years.
CBH Group, the grain growers' co-operative which handles, markets and processes grain from WA's wheatbelt, received a record 22.7mt of grain into its network.
In surpassing its 2021-22 receival total of 21.3mt, almost 100 individual site records were set across the network and for the first time in the co-operative's 90-year history, it also received more than 600,000 tonnes in one day.
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Grains Director Kerry Regan said the commitment of DPIRD to improving grain varieties and management practices in WA has been critical in reaching the level of success we have seen this season.
“Our staff have been responsible for some ground-breaking farming advancements that have led to significant changes in management practices and variety selection,” Ms Regan said. “Our research into soils, nutrition, pests and disease have helped growers to understand what is happening at a regional level. Having research staff located across the WA grain growing region has also meant that we can focus on key issues and provide specific recommendations on the ground. We also now have a better understanding of our climate, which is fundamental to our industry.”
The exceptional result produced by WA growers was done so on the back of a near record area sown with 8.9 million hectares planted. That was slightly down on 2021, but 7% more than 2020 and 16% more than previous record years.
Ms Regan said the annual Crop Sowing Guide, published by DPIRD, had become one of the most valuable tools to help growers select the correct variety for their region, to maximise production.
“Our staff draw together all of the critical information, contributing to variety selection, and put it into a format that is easy to understand and make informed comparisons,” she said. “Growers depend on it year after year, and it’s all made possible because of our regional staff determining what works and what doesn’t.”
Source: DPIRD / CBH | Photo: DPIRD
Australian agricultural exporters will have the best access to the UK since the 1970s when the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UK FTA) enters into force.
The agreement will eliminate tariffs on over 99% of Australian goods exports to the UK. It includes the immediate elimination of all tariffs on: wine; medium and short-grain rice; honey; most seafood; processed foods; nuts; fruit; and vegetables. The agreement also includes significant new and commercially meaningful quotas and staged out-of-quota tariff reductions for: beef; sheep meat; sugar; wheat; and dairy.
The UK is Australia’s second largest agricultural market in Europe after Germany. Between 2019–20 and 2021–22 on average, Germany and the UK agricultural commodities imports from Australia were $975.9 million and $768.4 million respectively.
The A-UK FTA will enter into force once the UK completes its domestic ratification process. This should occur in the coming months. Australia completed its domestic ratification processes in November 2022. More...
Source and Image: Austrade
2023 is shaping up as another strong year for Australia’s agricultural sector, although a repeat of last year’s "exceptional" performance is unlikely, Rabobank says in a newly-released industry outlook.
In its Australia Agribusiness Outlook 2023, titled Continuing on a successful path, the agribusiness banking specialist says a stand-out 2022 – with high, often record, commodity prices and good to partly-record production volumes – has put the nation’s farm sector in a healthy position for the year ahead, allowing for “record high farm incomes across the country, well above the already very good 2021 results”.
But it cautions against expectations of a repeat of last year’s stellar conditions in the agricultural sector, which were overall "exceptional", despite the impacts of severe flooding in some regions.
“Beef, dairy, grain, oilseeds and canola prices all hit excellent and often record levels in Australia at a time when our farmers produced good to excellent volumes,” the report said. “This was a fantastic combination which allowed Australian farmers to cash in because these factors far outpaced the significantly-elevated cost of fertilisers, energy, interest rates and farmland.
“2023 will bring many opportunities, (but) those with overly-inflated expectations of a repeat of 2022 might be disappointed as the world heads into recession.” More...
Source: Rabobank | Photo: DPIRD [Avon Valley, Western Australia]
Almost one year after Russia launched its war against Ukraine, the European Union economy entered 2023 on a better footing than projected in autumn, according to the European Commission's Winter 2023 Economic Forecast.
The winter interim forecast lifts the growth outlook for this year to 0.8% in the EU and 0.9% in the euro area (Member States of the EU that have adopted the euro as their currency).
Both areas are now set to narrowly avoid the technical recession that was anticipated for the turn of the year. The forecast also slightly lowers the projections for inflation for both 2023 and 2024. More...
Source: European Commission | Photo: Christian Lue / Unsplash
China’s economy is set to rebound this year as mobility and activity pick up after the lifting of pandemic restrictions, providing a boost to the global economy.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the economy will expand 5.2% this year, versus 3% last year. That’s good news for China and the world as the Chinese economy is now expected to contribute a quarter of global growth this year.
Even so, the IMF says China still faces significant economic challenges. The contraction in real estate remains a major headwind, and there is still some uncertainty around the evolution of the virus. Longer-term, headwinds to growth include a shrinking population and slowing productivity growth. More...
Source: IMF | Photo: Henry Chen / Unsplash [Shanghai]
Further information
Agribusiness, commercial fishing and aquaculture news from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). If you have any questions or information to share, please email export@dpird.wa.gov.au.
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Important disclaimer
The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.
Copyright © State of Western Australia (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), 2023.
