Business owners are invited by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) to join an exclusive five-week online program. It is designed to help you employ partnering as a practical development tool to grow your business.

Delivered by Ian Dixon of Dixon Partnering Solutions, a leader in helping businesses to develop strategic business relationships, the online program series, which is exclusive to Western Australian businesses, will include:

• Tailored Partnering for Customer Value learning material.
• Agrifood case studies to learn from.
• Extensive real-world business examples.
• Peer-to-peer learning in a small group online setting.

The online program via Zoom involves a 90-minute session every Tuesday from 10am to 11.30am for five weeks, from 15 March to 12 April 2022.  Pre-reading of two online learning modules per week (approximately three hours per week) is required.  

The program costs $575 per participant (GST included).  Registration, with payment, is required by 5pm on 1 March 2022. Places are limited, so please confirm as soon as possible.  Source and Image:  Ian Dixon, Dixon Partnering Solutions

Western Australian exporters, producers and agribusinesses are invited to hear the latest airfreight and export news from International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM), the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Avocados Australia and Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-Operative.

IFAM is a temporary, targeted, emergency support measure put in place by the Australian Government to keep global air links open in response to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This free virtual event takes place on Thursday 10 February 2022 at 11 am AWST and will feature: IFAM leads Air Vice Marshal Marg Staib and Michael Byrne; Terry Burnage, DPIRD; Flora Zhang, Avocados Australia; and Matt Rutter, Geraldton Fisherman’s Co-operative.

Don't miss this opportunity to speak directly with freight logisticians and supply chain presenters.  Please submit any questions on notice for discussion to freightbriefing@austrade.gov.au by 9 February 2022.  More...  Source and Photo:  IFAM / Austrade

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) has congratulated Dr Mark Sweetingham on receiving a Public Service Medal for ‘Outstanding public service to scientific research and development of the grains industry in Western Australia’.

Presented as part of this year’s Australia Day awards, Dr Sweetingham was acknowledged for his immense contribution and dedication to the agriculture and food sector, particularly the grains industry.

Dr Sweetingham’s commitment to the public sector spanned 37 years, most recently as DPIRD’s Deputy Director General until 2020.

After completing a Doctor of Philosophy in plant pathology at the University of Tasmania, Dr Sweetingham started his professional career with the department in 1983 as a plant pathologist.

He contributed extensively to the development of the WA lupin industry, particularly in the anthracnose disease outbreak of 1994 before moving into senior positions in the grains directorate.  More...  Source and Image:  DPIRD

Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) premier grains industry forum – the 2022 Grains Research Update, Perth – has moved to a virtual format.

The Perth Update event will now be held as free virtual events on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 February, giving attendees across the State access to the latest research, technology, market development and management innovations to improve the productivity and profitability of the grains industry.

Revised program details and registration links will be available soon, and for those who have already purchased tickets, conference fees will be refunded in full.

GRDC Senior Regional Manager – West, Peter Bird, says the GRDC Grains Research Update in Perth is an important forum for growers, advisers, researchers and industry service providers to connect and share insights and knowledge to help further the State’s thriving export-focused grains industry.  More...  Source:  GRDC  |  Photo:  DPIRD

Australia’s agricultural sector is set for another profitable year ahead, with the gross value of agricultural production on track for a fourth consecutive year of growth in 2021-22, Rabobank says in a newly-released industry report.

In its flagship annual Australian Agribusiness Outlook for 2022, titled Making Hay While the Sun Shines, the specialist global agribusiness bank says a stellar 2021 – with high to record-high agricultural commodity prices and production volumes reaching record levels in some Australian commodities – represented a continued recovery from the crippling 2017 to 2019 drought and had positioned Australian agriculture for a strong year ahead.

“Australia’s second year of great pricing and mostly exceptional production conditions in 2021 means the Australian agriculture industry is well placed to take on the challenges of 2022.  More importantly, it means the industry can prepare for the time when the sun is not shining so brightly in its favour,” the report said.  More...  Source:  Rabobank  |  Photo:  DPIRD

The continuing global recovery faces multiple challenges as the pandemic enters its third year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says in its latest World Economic Outlook Update.

Global growth is expected to moderate from 5.9% in 2021 to 4.4% in 2022 – half a percent lower for 2022 than in the IMF's October World Economic Outlook, largely reflecting forecast markdowns in the two largest economies.

The IMF says global growth is expected to slow to 3.8% in 2023, 0.2% higher than in its previous forecast. 

The forecast is conditional on adverse health outcomes declining to low levels in most countries by end of 2022, assuming vaccination rates improve worldwide and therapies become more effective.  More...  Source and Graphic:  IMF

In a detailed analysis of the World Trade Report 2021: Economic Resilience and Trade, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) hosted an online event this week, with report authors presenting evidence on the role of international trade in economic resilience.

The WTO says resilience is a combination of actions that can be taken before, during and after shocks hit.  Shocks cause damage and disruption to trade through increasing trade costs and impacts on demand and supply of exports and imports.

With economies increasingly exposed to certain types of risks and shocks, many firms and governments are now considering resilience as a key strategic objective, according to Dr Roberta Piermartini, WTO's Chief of Trade Costs Analysis.

A recording of the Trade Dialogue: An in-depth look at the World Trade Report 2021 event is available online.  Source:  WTO  Photo:  Manson Yim / Unsplash [Port of Hong Kong]