The winners of the 2022 National Seafood Industry Awards and Hall of Fame inductees were announced as a part of the Seafood Directions 2022 gala dinner held in Brisbane last Thursday 15 September 2022.

WA award winners were Women in Seafood Australasia, and Shark Bay Prawn Trawler Operators Association on behalf of the Australian Council of Prawn Fisheries. Two Western Australians have also been inducted into the National Seafood Industry Hall of Fame.

Dr George Kailis was named Industry Ambassador and inducted to the Hall of Fame.  He was honoured with the Leadership Award at WA's State awards held August 2021, highlighting his status as a guiding light of growth and innovation for the industry in WA, as well as his commitment to sustainable fisheries practices around the world.

Brett McCallum was also inducted to the Hall of Fame. His involvements in the seafood industry cover a wide cross-section of areas, including roles as Board Director and Chief Executive of the WA Fishing Industry Council, Executive Officer of the Pearl Producers Association, and chairmanship of WA's Research Advisory Committee for the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation. More... Source: WA Minister for Fisheries | Photo: Seafood Directions [WA awards winners Women in Seafood Australasia.]

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is supporting the latest instalment of the WA Agtech Meetup series on Thursday 21 October from 5pm to 7pm (AWST) at Town Hall at Riff, 45 St George's Terrace, Perth. This event was originally scheduled to take place on 22 September, which is now a public holiday.

The series will deep dive into all things horticulture and viticulture, hearing from innovative producers leading the charge on tech adoption, including agtech providers delivering solutions for the industry.

The event, both an in-person and virtual event, is powered by Beanstalk Agtech and AgriFutures Australia, and through DPIRD’s commitment to helping innovators in agriculture.

Places are limited so please register now. Source and Photo: DPIRD 

Australia hosted Asia’s largest gathering of halal business leaders in Melbourne recently – the first time the World Halal Business Conference has been held outside Malaysia.  

Over two days, Australian businesses explored growing halal export opportunities across food, health and beauty, as well as financial service sectors. 

Austrade and Global Victoria partnered with Malaysia’s Halal Development Corporation under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to host the conference themed, Halal Opportunities in a Borderless World. 

The halal economy is one of the fastest growing sectors globally and is expected to reach $7.3 trillion by 2030. With over 240 million Muslims, Southeast Asia is a key region where halal-certified products offer growing opportunities for Australian businesses. 

The event brought together government, industry bodies and businesses to network and discuss the development of halal industries across Australia, Malaysia and the Southeast Asia.   More... Source: Austrade | Photo: Louis Hansel / Unsplash 

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has recently launched a new online agriculture Export Service. This service allows registered businesses to conduct digital transactions with the department.

As a part of the streamlined service, Australian exporters will experience simple and reduced touchpoints with DAFF. There will be more autonomy for exporters in terms of completing regulatory requirements for export with less paper documentation and reporting. It will also increase export opportunities based on risk and return.

David Hazlehurst, Deputy Secretary of the Agriculture Trade Group at DAFF, noted that “this digital transformation and other related trade reform are critical. They will support our agriculture sector to meet its agriculture 2030 goal of $100 billion in farm-gate returns.”

DAFF predicts the Export Service will benefit industry by allowing them to get their products to market faster and with reduced administrative effort. More... Source: Australian Export Awards | Photo: Austrade

Two consecutive La Niña years have disrupted global food supplies and contributed to higher agricultural prices, Export Finance Australia says in a recent article.

However, with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology declaring just last week that a La Niña weather event is already under way in the Pacific Ocean – for the third year in a row and only the fourth time this has happened since 1900 – further disruption may well be on the way.

La Niña brings heavy rains to most of Asia’s agriculture producers and drought to many United States (US) and South American producers. Over the two years to July 2022, prices for US wheat have risen 49%, while maize (up 111%), soybeans (78%) and arabica coffee (74%) prices are also higher, notwithstanding some decline in the past few months.

Another La Niña could further damage global food supply and raise prices at a time when crop supplies are tight, including due to the Russia-Ukraine war. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the 2020-21 La Niña episode put countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific at high risk of agricultural output losses and worsening food security. These countries are likely to be vulnerable to another La Niña event and further bad weather conditions would increase import prices for low-income countries. More...  Source: Export Finance Australia / BOM | Related: BOM declares La Niña Source: ABC | Photo: Steven Weeks / Unsplash

Vietnam’s upbeat growth outlook is bucking the slowing trend elsewhere in Asia, with relatively subdued inflation that’s also an exception to the general rule in the region, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The first half of this year saw a swift economic rebound as Vietnam’s pandemic restrictions eased, following the adoption of a living-with-COVID strategy and a robust vaccination drive. 

The IMF recently raised its Vietnam growth forecast to 7% this year, lifting it by a full percentage point from three months earlier. It is the only significant upward revision among major Asian economies. The projection for next year was lowered by 0.5% to 6.7%, but that still contrasts with dimming prospects elsewhere and would still be at the fastest pace among Asia’s major economies.

By way of contrast, growth estimates for Asia were lowered to 4.2% and 4.6% for this year and next in the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook Update. More... Source: IMF | Photo: Ammie Ngo / Unsplash [Hạ Long, Vietnam]