Facebook icon Twitter icon Forward icon

6 September 2022

Western Australian Agrifood Export eNews

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.auSubscribe to Western Australian Agrifood Export eNews.

WA food and beverage showcase at Asia’s premier trade event

A diverse showcase of premium Western Australian food and beverage products is on display at Asia's premier trade exhibition in Singapore this week, supported by the State Government.

Food and Hotel Asia – Food and Beverage 2022 attracts 55,000 buyers, distributors, agents and hospitality operators from throughout the region and beyond, providing a platform for WA suppliers to maintain, re-establish and forge new market opportunities.

The WA Government's display features produce from 25 WA agrifood businesses, including grains, canola oil, nougat, honey, seafood, fruit and vegetables, coffee and chocolate, alongside beer, wine, cider and spirits.

The State Government is supporting the WA delegation by coordinating opportunities to network and meet with traders, as well as tour key premium food and beverage retail outlets.

An additional 40 WA agrifood and fishery businesses are also exhibiting at the event, spanning truffles, dairy, seafood, honey, beverages and meat throughout the Australia Pavilion.

The initiative is part of the WA Government's $185 million Reconnect WA package, assisting local businesses to rebuild international business relationships and supply chains impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More...​ Source: WA Minister for Agriculture and Food | Photo: DPIRD [Minister Alannah MacTiernan with FHA Western Australian delegation.]

WA regenerative and sustainable produce promotion 2022 (Singapore)

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the Wheatbelt Development Commission are hosting a Western Australian Regenerative and Sustainable Produce Promotion (RSPP) in Raffles City, Singapore, from 2 to 9 September 2022.

Visitors to the RSPP exhibit will:

  • Learn more about regenerative agriculture produce and the benefits and importance of these practices to address climate change.
  • Hear from WA farmers how they nurture the planet by growing their produce regeneratively and sustainably.
  • Help ‘harvest’ crops in a fun, interactive display.

Visitors to the stand who participate in a consumer research survey will receive a free gift (while stocks last).  More... Source and Image: DPIRD

September WA Agtech Meetup – Horticulture and Viticulture

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is supporting the latest instalment of the WA Agtech Meetup series on Thursday 22 September from 5pm to 7pm AWST at 191 St George's Terrace, Perth.

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

IMF: Singapore’s economy rebounds

Singapore’s impressive recovery from the pandemic is outperforming similar economies, with total output exceeding pre-crisis levels last year, but the rebound has also been uneven, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

While the recovery is expected to remain resilient, significant uncertainties cloud the outlook, including risks from more supply-chain disruptions, higher commodity prices, rising interest rates in the largest advanced economies, and weaker demand from major trading partners.

The IMF says central to the evolving risks to the outlook are developments in China, Singapore’s largest trading partner, as well as global economic fragmentation arising from the war in Ukraine.

Singapore's recovery could benefit WA exporters. In 2021-22, WA exported $187.2 million worth of agrifoods to Singapore. This was a 15% year-on-year increase from $162.9 million last year. The largest agrifood export in 2021-22 was inedible animal fats, lards, and tallow worth $39.2 million. This was followed by pig meat worth $30.9 million and wheat worth $28.9 million. WA, in total, made up 12% of Australian agrifood exports to Singapore. More... Source: IMF | Photo: WA Agrifood Export eNews

Innovation needed to feed the world by 2050

According to the World Resources Institute, there’s a 56% gap between the amount of food we make today and what we're going to need globally by 2050. Main Sequence Ventures (MSV) – an Australian-based venture capital firm co-founded by the CSIRO – is leading the charge to source innovative solutions to this very challenge: Feed 10 billion People

And the leader of the ambitious undertaking and partner of MSV, Phil Morle, believes ‘radical collaboration’ is going to serve up the answers. “The only way we’re going to be able to solve a problem the size of this one is to work together,” said Mr Morle. “A lot of the time people suffocate an idea with an embrace and do it all alone, holding onto the belief that they don’t need anybody else and they’re smarter than everybody else."

Amplifying connections between industry research and infrastructure is part of MSV’s DNA, to accelerate deep technology development, then reinvest the economic returns from commercialisation back into science. 

Now they’re going one step further, hunting out researchers, innovators, inventors, and entrepreneurs who are developing ideas that could become globally disruptive companies in tackling the ever-present issue of feeding the citizens of the world on a planet fast running out of room to produce it. More... Source and Photo: evokeAG

How resilient have Asia’s economies been during the pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic hit economies hard and Asia has not been spared. In general, though, Asian economies performed better than most others outside of the region, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Economies in Asia’s developing countries generally fared well during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the region’s economy contracted for the first time in 60 years but, at -0.8%, gross domestic product (GDP) growth was only slightly negative – quite a feat when compared to the deep recessions in other parts of the world, including in the United States (-3.4%), the Euro area (-6.5%), and most other emerging economies.

Moreover, the ADB says growth bounced back strongly in 2021, with regional GDP expanding by 6.9%, led by the export-oriented economies including the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. Again, this was better economic performance than that experienced by most of the world. More... Source and Photo: ADB