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17 December 2024
Western Australian agrifood export eNews
There’s no question of naughty or nice when it comes to Australian seafood— it’s always a winner.
“When you choose Australian seafood, you’re supporting one of the world’s most highly regulated and best-performing fisheries management systems,” said Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) CEO Veronica Papacosta. “This Christmas, whether you opt for farmed or wild-caught seafood, you can take pride in the incredible work of our fishers and aquaculturists, who ensure sustainability while delivering top-quality seafood for Australians to enjoy.”
Australian seafood has become a cherished Christmas tradition, and 2024 is no different. From fresh prawns and oysters to barramundi and rock lobster, there’s no shortage of sustainable, delicious options for your festive feast.
This year, however, brings new challenges. Conservation measures designed to protect marine biodiversity have reduced fishing access in some areas, increasing costs for fishers and potentially impacting seafood prices.
Despite these challenges, there’s still an abundance of incredible Australian seafood to enjoy. Prawns remain a festive favourite. Australia is blessed with an abundance of different prawn species including King Prawns, Tiger Prawns and Banana Prawns, all offering exceptional quality and sustainability. Freshly shucked Sydney Rock and Pacific oysters are perfect for kicking off the celebrations, and for a show-stopping main course, consider whole roasted Barramundi, Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon, or go for the wow factor with a Western, Southern or Eastern Rock Lobster!
To locate a local supplier, visit Greataustralianseafood.com.au.
Source: Seafood Industry Australia | Photo: Coles
The Western Australian Government and partners have secured a major international conference in Perth next year to unearth the mysteries and potential of sandy soils.
The Global Conference on Sandy Soils 2025 will attract scientists from broadacre and irrigated agriculture, landscape rehabilitation and environmental conservation from across the world to Perth from 21-24 July.
The conference theme 'Shifting Sands to Sustainable Solutions' will focus on the challenges of managing and protecting sandy soils around the world in the face of a changing climate.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the CSIRO are leading the event, supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, SoilsWest and Business Events Perth, alongside Machinery Specialists and VRT Solutions.
The conference will bring national and international researchers to Perth to join with WA researchers and industry partners to explore opportunities to work together to better understand and manage sandy soil landscapes.
The conference program features discussions on irrigated and dryland agricultural systems, natural systems, engineered systems, soil and water conservation, soil fertility and overcoming constraints to plant growth.
For more information and to register to attend the Global Conference on Sandy Soils 2025, visit the website.
Source: WA Government | Image: Global Conference on Sandy Soils
Total sales of Australian wine exceeded production for the second year in a row, following successive small vintages, according to the Australian Wine Production, Sales and Inventory Report 2024 released today by Wine Australia.
Wine production was just over 1 billion litres, an 8 per cent increase compared with 2022–23 but still the second-smallest reported production in 17 years, and 16 per cent below the 10-year average of 1.24 billion litres.
Peter Bailey, Manager, Market Insights at Wine Australia said that the below-average production from the small 2024 vintage was the result of a combination of seasonal factors and economic and market conditions.
The overall increase of 8 per cent compared with 2022–23 was made up of a 20 per cent increase in white wine production, partly offset by a 2 per cent decrease in red wine production. This saw white wine’s share of production increase from 46 per cent to 51 per cent — the first time in 12 years that the production of white wine has exceeded that of red wine in Australia.
Mr Bailey said that this change reflected adjustments made by the sector to counter the oversupply of red wine that had arisen over the past three years.
The total volume of sales of Australian wine in export and domestic markets was 1.08 billion litres. This was a decrease of 1 per cent compared with 2022–23, with both domestic and export sales showing very small declines. Contrary to the change in share of production, white’s share of total sales declined due to 4 per cent growth in red wine exports.
Mr Bailey explained that the growth in red wine exports was driven by the re-commencement of exports to mainland China following the removal of import tariffs in late March 2024. The volume of exports to China grew from 1 million litres to 32 million litres (5 per cent of total wine exports) in the 2023–24 financial year, almost all of which (96 per cent) was red table wine. However, he cautioned that this was likely to represent the re-stocking of Australian wine in the market after a long absence, and did not necessarily equate to retail sales.
Source: Wine Australia | Image: gettyimages -Bloomburg
Queensland and WA farmers reported improved optimism heading into the end of the year, while sentiment was more subdued in other states, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has found.
The survey found on a national basis farmers were becoming increasingly cautious about the outlook for the agricultural economy, with nearly half (47 per cent) attributing their concerns to dry seasonal conditions, while rising cost pressures are also a worry. This follows a dry spring across a number of regions around the country.
However, signs of longer-term optimism in the sector remained strong with farmers reporting robust investment appetite in the year ahead.
Despite the overall decline in national rural sentiment, farmers in Queensland and Western Australia bucked the trend, reporting an uptick in confidence.
Western Australian farmers are ending the year with their confidence levels intact, with a better-than-expected harvest seeing net rural confidence creep up slightly to -6 per cent, from -8 per cent previously. Income expectations were up among WA producers, as was the appetite to invest in their farm business, with 23 per cent indicating an interest in purchasing farmland in the year ahead – compared with 12 per cent nationally.
Source: Rabobank | Photo: DPIRD
Global goods trade continued to expand at a moderate pace in the fourth quarter of 2024 according to the latest WTO Goods Trade Barometer. However, prospects for trade in 2025 are uncertain as they may be affected by possible trade policy shifts.
The latest reading of 102.7 for the barometer index (represented by the blue line above) is both above the quarterly trade volume index (represented by the black line) and greater than the baseline value of 100 for the index, suggesting that trade will continue to grow steadily through the fourth quarter. However, the outlook is clouded by rising economic uncertainty, including possible shifts in trade policy.
All of the barometer's component indices remain on or above trend except for the electronic components index (95.4), which has stabilized below trend. Indices representing export orders and raw materials indices are both on trend (100.5) while those representing air freight (102.9), automotive products (104.0) and container shipping (105.8) are firmly above trend. The container shipping index showed the biggest improvement over the last three months while the air freight index lost momentum. Export orders, usually the most predictive of the barometer's components, remain very close to the baseline value of 100, suggesting steady trade growth in the near term.
The full Goods Trade Barometer is available here. Further details on the methodology are contained in the technical note here.
Source and image: WTO
Further information
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.au.
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Important disclaimer
The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.
Copyright © State of Western Australia (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), 2024.
