The Western Australian Government has launched the Wine Industry Export Growth Partnership, a $6 million project to boost wine exports and create local jobs.

The Government and industry will each contribute $3 million to establish the partnership to deliver the five-year program.

The Wine Industry Export Growth Partnership kicks off the WA Wines to the World project, aimed at driving export competitiveness to increase the value of Western Australian wine exports to $117 million annually by 2025 – a 50 per cent increase.

In the first phase of the project, Wines of WA has commissioned a study to identify market and consumer trends to determine the best strategy to position WA's premium wines in international markets. In addition, they will conduct workshops and extension activities to encourage more WA wine producers to consider export opportunities.

The industry-led partnership will also boost research capability in WA wine quality and provenance.

The WA Wine Export Advisory and Steering Group will oversee the implementation of the project. It will include representatives from Wines of WA, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, producers and regional wine associations.  Source:  WA Minister for Agriculture and Food  |  Photo:  DPIRD [At the recent launch of the Wine Industry Export Growth Partnership at West Cape Howe winery in Mount Barker. L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Wines of WA, Larry Jorgensen; WA Minister for Agriculture and Food, Alannah MacTiernan; Jane Kelsbie MLA, Member for Warren-Blackwood.]

Western Australian food and beverage manufacturers are now featured in a series of interactive, online Food and Beverage Capability Guides.  The guides can help restaurants, retailers, consumers and buyers source fresh and value-added products from the nine regions of WA.

With the State's reputation for producing high-quality produce – combined with our close proximity to Asia – the guides are roadmaps designed to help producers get the most from domestic and export market opportunities. Each guide has been produced in collaboration with regional partners, and will be available in this list when published:

• Mid West Food and Beverage Capability Guide (pilot)
• Great Southern Food and Beverage Capability Guide
• Gascoyne – in progress (apply now)
• Goldfields-Esperance – in progress (apply now)
• Kimberley – closed and launching soon
• Peel – in progress (apply now)
• Perth Metro – yet to commence
• Pilbara – yet to commence
• South West – yet to commence
• Wheatbelt – in progress (apply now).

Please register your interest to be included in the next edition of the capability guide for your region.  For more information, contact DPIRD's Food Industry Innovation team.  |  Related:  Food guide connecting Great Southern businesses and consumers ]  Source and Photo:  DPIRD / WA Minister for Agriculture and Food [At the recent launch of the Great Southern Food and Beverage Capability Guide.  L-R: Denmark Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer, Sumer Addy;  WA Minister for Agriculture and Food, Alannah MacTiernan; DPIRD Program Manager Food Industry Innovation, Kim Antonio.]

WA food and beverage producers are invited to attend a half day interactive workshop focused on partnering for business growth, presented by international partnering expert Ian Dixon of Dixon Partnering Solutions that will include:

• An introduction to partnering principles.
• Clarifying the language around partnering – what it is and what it isn’t.
• Exploring how partnering at the right time can add value to your business and enable growth.
• Outlining the key ingredients for successful partnering to maximise ROI.
• How to set up successful partnerships at strategic points in your value chain.

Taking place on 22 June 2021 from 9 am until 1.30 pm AWST, this will be run as a hybrid event with a catered face-to-face workshop in Busselton, and livestreaming available for businesses in other regions across the State to join the event via Zoom.  Register for Busselton or livestream here and please indicate if you are joining online, or at Shelter Brewing in Busselton.

The same workshop will be run again on 23 June 2021 from 9 am until 1 pm AWST in Perth.  Register for Perth here.

These workshop are brought to you by the Food Industry Innovation team at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.  More...  Source:  DPIRD  |  Image:  iStock

A combination of global and localised factors is creating a “very tight” global beef cattle market – with strong demand and record high prices in many regions throughout the world – which is coinciding with a fundamental shift in international market dynamics, Rabobank says in a newly-released report.  

In its Second Quarter Beef Quarterly, the agribusiness banking specialist says so tight is the global beef market that localised disruptions – including droughts and increases in consumer demand in individual countries or regions – are now exerting a much more “dramatic impact” on global trade.

“Given the growth in demand for beef and global trade, pressures created in the system now mean that what may once have been considered slightly-abnormal seasonal conditions, for example, are now causing major shifts to markets,” the report says.

Report co-author, Rabobank senior animal proteins analyst Angus Gidley-Baird says the local drivers that are fuelling high beef and cattle prices in individual countries – such as post-drought herd rebuilding in Australia and a re-opening food service sector in the United States – will eventually correct and cause an adjustment in prices.

“However, with the tight global supply situation – underpinned by Chinese demand, which is expected to remain firm – we believe the global market has seen a fundamental step up,” he said.  More...  Source:  Rabobank  |  Photo:  DPIRD

The Japan–Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA) entered into force in January 2015 and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has advised stakeholders of the commencement of work on a General Review of the implementation and operation of this agreement.

The review is an opportunity to upgrade and modernise the agreement to support an enhanced bilateral economic partnership.

DFAT has commenced preparatory work for the General Review, including preliminary discussions with Japan.  This will include targeted consultations with key stakeholders, but written submissions from any interested stakeholders are also welcome – which can be sent to JapanEPA@dfat.gov.au.

Submissions will be treated as public and may be published on DFAT's website, unless the author specifically requests that the submission, or any part of it, be handled in confidence.  The closing date for submissions is 15 July 2021.  Source:  DFAT  |  Photo:  Karen Z / Unsplash

Global merchandise trade is continuing to recover in 2021 following a steep, but brief, pandemic-induced drop in the second quarter of last year, according to the latest World Trade Organisation Goods Trade Barometer released last Friday.

The Goods Barometer is a composite leading indicator for world trade, providing real-time information on the trajectory of merchandise trade relative to recent trends. The barometer's current reading of 109.7 is nearly 10 points above the baseline value of 100 for the index and up 21.6 points year-on-year, reflecting both the strength of the current recovery and the depth of the COVID-19 shock last year.

In the latest month, all of the barometer's component indices were above trend and rising, highlighting the broad-based nature of the recovery and signalling an accelerating pace of trade expansion.

Among the barometer’s component indices, the biggest gains were seen in export orders (114.8), air freight (111.1) and electronic components (115.2), all of which are highly predictive of near-term trade developments.  More... Source and Graphics:  WTO

Global economic growth is now expected to be 5.8% this year, a sharp upwards revision from the December 2020 Economic Outlook projection of 4.2% for 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says.

The vaccines rollout in many of the advanced economies has been driving the improvement, as has the massive fiscal stimulus by the United States. World gross dosmestic product (GDP) growth is expected to be 4.4% next year but global income will still be some US$ 3 trillion less by end 2022 than was expected before the crisis hit.

The OECD says Australia's GDP is projected to grow by 5.1% in 2021 and 3.4% in 2022, driven by domestic demand. Confidence is high and labour demand is strong. Rising incomes and a declining saving rate will support consumption. 

This week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data showing Australia's GDP rose 1.8 per cent (seasonally adjusted) in the March quarter 2021.  The ABS said Australian economic activity has recovered to be above pre-pandemic levels.  More...  |  Related:  Australia Economic Snapshot - Economic Forecast Summary (May 2021)  |  Source: OECD / ABS  |  Graphic:  OECD