The promise of keeping fresh, locally sourced scallops on the menu for decades to come has been strengthened, with the Abrolhos Island and Mid-West Scallop Trawl Fishery recently recognised as operating to the highest sustainability standard in the world.

The fishery is now the 11th in WA to be certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).  MSC certification is the world’s gold standard in independent sustainability certification – setting standards that must be able to sustain fishing stocks indefinitely even in the face of changing environmental conditions.

This is an impressive achievement for licence holders given the fishery was closed between 2012 and 2016 to recover stock levels, following a marine heat wave event.  While this had a devastating impact on licence holders at the time, the recovery of stocks demonstrated the value of short-term sacrifice for long-term gain, and provided confidence that proactive management and mitigation can sustain a valuable resource for future benefit. 

Licence holders can now use the blue MSC label eco-tick on their products, which not only increases consumer confidence, but also paves the way for new domestic and international markets – and of course will keep fresh scallops on WA tables.  Source: WA Minister for Fisheries / MSC  |  Related:  Abrolhos scallop fishers hope sustainability tick will boost international sales Source: ABC News | Photo: Tourism Australia

The WA Horticulture Update 2021, hosted on 4 November 2021 at Optus Stadium in Perth by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and supported by Hort Innovation and Business Events Perth, is a great opportunity for all those involved in the industry to get an insight into the rapidly changing global food production landscape.

There are a range of major shifts occurring in food production around the world, driven by increasing consumer awareness and expectations, influencing the way food is produced to be considered safe, responsible and ethical.

The conference will hear form Global food analyst David ‘Dr Food’ Hughes who will headline the conference virtually from the United Kingdom to share the latest global food trends, including the impact of the pandemic, social regulation and eco-sensitive consumers.

A complementary tour will be held the following day, starting with a breakfast at the Perth Markets before visiting a bioenergy plant, black soldier fly research, a leading avocado property and the State’s largest nursery.  More... Source and Image:  DPIRD

Australian agribusiness food and bevarage exporters interested in taking advantage of new benefits arising out of the forthcoming Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement and the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement are being encouraged to join this webinar on tax compliance requirements to trade in the UK and EU.

Taking place on 28 October at 2.30pm AWST, topics will include registering for tax, trading cross border and reporting tax.  Speakers are:  Anastasia Nichnianidze, Austrade Trade and Investment Commissioner, London; Ianthe Spillemaeckers, VAT compliance specialist, Avalara; Nicole Morton, cross border solutions specialist, Avalara; and Louis Fitzpatrick, VAT solutions specialist, Avalara.

The event is free, but participants must register.  Source:  Austrade |  Photo:  Tom Chen, Unsplash

With many global marine fisheries already overfished, increased aquaculture production will be critical to satisfy Asian consumers’ large appetite for seafood, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reports in a September 2021 economic update.

The aquaculture industry is expanding in the region, and the ADB says this is helping meet the demand for seafood while creating jobs and enhancing livelihoods.  Aquaculture provides 52% of fishery production worldwide, with Asia's 88% share dominating this growing global industry.  China alone contributes over 60% to the world’s farmed food fish production.  Asians are also the biggest consumers of fish per capita in the world. 

The ADB says increasing availability of seafood helps consumers in Asia improve their nutrition.  Daily energy consumption per capita is expected to increase from 2,612 kilocalories in 2012 to 2,844 by 2030. Meanwhile, demand for food in Asia has shifted away from basic staples toward more resource-intensive animal-based products.  Asia’s agriculture sector must be productive enough to meet these increases and shifts in demand, the regional development bank says.  Source:  ADB / FAO  |  Image:  ADB

Austrade’s latest China Insights video looks at fast-growing markets in China’s Southwest region and highlights opportunities in the food and beverage sector, as well as infrastructure design, and healthcare.

The Southwest of China offers a range of opportunities for Australian business.  Chengdu and Chongqing are new Chinese first tier cities – with gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeding China’s national GDP growth last year – and are powered by a middle class that know how to spend.  This consumer spending power presents many ongoing opportunities for Australian businesses, including in select premium food and beverage products.

If you are interested in entering the Southwest China market, please contact Austrade online.  More...  Source:  Austrade  |  Photo:  Zain Lee / Unsplash [Anshun Bridge in the provincial capital of Chengdu in Sichuan, China]

Indonesia's economy is bouncing back from COVID-19.  Find out at this webinar on 4 November 2021 at 12 noon AWST what this means for your business, and where the commercial opportunities are.  Get some tips on business culture as well.

Join the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Austrade, Export Council of Australia and private sector experts to get insights on the opportunities and risks of doing business with Indonesia.

Panellists at this event will be:  Dianne Tipping (MC), Chair, Export Council of Australia; Ms Penny Williams, Ambassador to Indonesia, Australian Embassy, Jakarta; Sally Deane, Senior Trade Commissioner and Minister (Commercial) Indonesia, Australian Embassy, Jakarta; Robin Ellard, Managing Director, SafetyLink; and Helen Brown, Founder and Managing Director, Bisnis Asia.  More...  Source:  DFAT / ECA  |  Photo:  Achmad Al Fadhli / Unsplash

Recently 105 new stock feed commodities were added to the Find laws and regulations tool on Australian Government's export.business.gov.au website.  The commodities include hay, straw and chaff, bird seed, pellets, sorghum, oats, and meals.

The new information will provide advice to more than 600 Australian exporters, bringing the total number of exporters served by the tool to 3,600.

The additional laws and regulations information increases the number of commodities available to Australian exporters to 790, further expanding the tool information, which also includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey, processed plant products, and grains and seeds.  More...  Source:  Austrade  |  Photo:  Thomas Lefebvre, Unsplash