Applications for Round 3 of the Agrifood and Beverage Voucher Program close in just over a week.

Food and beverage manufacturers and processors can access vouchers to engage a consultant or technical expert to help grow their business.

Eligible businesses may apply for up to two vouchers this round, with a maximum combined value up to $15,000 (depending on total sales turnover) and are required to match the voucher funding dollar-for-dollar.

Applications must be submitted via Smartygrants by 5pm (AWST) on Monday 15 November 2021.

For further information, please email foodindustryinnovation@dpird.wa.gov.au.  More...  Source:  DPIRD  |  Photo: Tourism WA

The Western Australian Government has launched targeted guides to support Aboriginal businesses to increase their representation in the State's burgeoning bushfoods industry.

The two practical guides were presented to existing and aspiring Aboriginal business this week at a bushfood industry event at Roelands Village, hosted by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in partnership with Outback Academy Australia.

The two guides, Setting up for success: Bushfoods and Protection of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge for Bushfood Businesses, highlight the risks and opportunities for Aboriginal businesses, as well as promoting best practices for industry.

WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said these practical guides will help to grow the emerging Aboriginal bushfoods industry in Western Australia.

"Domestic and international interest in Australian bushfoods is growing, presenting a fantastic opportunity for Aboriginal people to drive this growth," the Minister said.  More...  Source:  WA Minister for Agriculture and Food  |  Photo:  Tourism WA

One of Australia’s leading stone fruit producers is set for a peachy summer, sending its first load of product for the export season to Malaysia last week.

Victorian-based LPG Cutri Fruit Global sent eight tonnes of premium peaches and nectarines on a flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur last Friday, maintaining important airfreight connectivity with the help from the Australian Government’s International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM). 

LPG Cutri Fruit Global, Executive General Manager Frank Frappa said IFAM had allowed the business to remain connected with its international markets despite challenges caused by COVID-induced border restrictions.

“The team at IFAM have been fantastic – they listen, they understand and have done a great job in helping us navigate our way through the challenges that COVID has caused,” Mr Frappa said.  “Without the support it would have really impacted our business and the wider stone fruit industry. The program has been really well put together.”

The latest IFAM outbound and inbound flights are available on the IFAM website.  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.  More...  Source and Photo:  Austrade

The Perth USAsia Centre is launching its latest publication, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province: A vanguard for advancing the Australia-Vietnam economic relationship.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau (BVRT) province is an emerging economic hub in Vietnam, with new developments in infrastructure that make it a competitive destination for Australian investment. The province presents a gateway for deepening Australia’s economic ties with Vietnam by leveraging established policy frameworks including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Western Australia, in particular, has a unique opportunity to boost ties, having signed a memorandum of understanding with the province in 2020.

Speakers taking part in this free webinar at 2pm AWST on 23 November 2021 are:

• Rebecca Ball, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Vietnam, Austrade.
• Kyle Springer, report author and Policy Fellow, Perth USAsia Centre.
• Krista Dunstan, WA's Investment and Trade Commissioner, ASEAN.

The report’s findings will be discussed and steps towards unlocking deeper connections between Australia and Vietnam examined.  Source and Graphic:  Perth USAsia Centre

Australia has ratified the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), ensuring the nation's farmers and businesses are able to access the benefits of what will be the world’s the largest free trade agreement.

Australia has joined the group of RCEP signatory states that have ratified, ensuring Australian businesses will have access to the agreement from 1 January 2022.

RCEP will strengthen Australia’s trade relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian States (ASEAN) and signal our commitment to ASEAN-led regional economic architecture.

When in force for all 15 signatories, RCEP will bring nine of Australia’s top 15 trading partners into a single economic framework.  More...  Source:  Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment / DFAT  |  Photo:  Zov Wil / Unsplash [Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.  The Republic of Korea is in RCEP and is one of ASEAN's free trade agreement partners.]

G20 economies have continued to roll back COVID-19-related trade-restrictive measures and demonstrated restraint in the imposition of new ones, according to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The latest Trade Monitoring Report on G20 trade measures, released ahead of the G20 leaders’ summit in Rome last weekend, shows that despite the relatively low number of COVID-19 trade restrictions still in place, their estimated trade coverage was almost double (US$88.4 billion) that of trade-facilitating measures (US$48.2 billion).

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on G20 economies to continue to unwind pandemic-related trade restrictions, adding that they must show leadership in helping WTO members deliver a strong response to the pandemic as this would help all countries respond more effectively to COVID-19 and better prepare for future pandemics.

“The multilateral trading system has played an instrumental role in encouraging restraint in the use of trade restrictions. This is paying dividends now, with trade emerging as an important driver of the post-pandemic economic recovery," Dr Okonjo-Iweala said. More...  Source and Photo:  WTO