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24 September 2024
Western Australian agrifood export eNews
The recent Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE is set to give a competitive advantage to Australian food exporters in accessing services markets.
The UAE is Australia’s largest trade and investment partner in the Middle East with two-way trade being worth over $9.9 billion and two-way investment worth $20.6 billion in 2023.
The recent CEPA will eliminate tariffs on over 99 per cent of Australia’s exports to the UAE by value, with most tariffs eliminated on entry-into-force or locked in at zero and others eliminated over three or five stages.
Removal of the UAE’s import tariffs is set to create create commercially significant benefits for Australian exporters. Farmers and food and beverage producers stand to gain from the access to the UAE´s growing market for premium food and agricultural products.
Tariffs will be eliminated on products such as frozen beef and sheep meat, canola seeds, dried legumes and dairy.
Source: Food& Beverage Industry News | Image: tampatra/stock.adobe
The Austrade team for food and beverage will be hosting an FDA Registration and Compliance Webinar on 9 October 2024 from 8am to 9am. This is an online event and can be attended by anyone, especially those looking to expand to the States or have FDA questions.
The one-hour session will briefly cover issues to consider when starting to offer Australian food products for sale in the United States.
Topics will include:
- Food Facility Registration
- Mandatory Labelling
- Voluntary Labelling Claims
- Litigation Risk
- Other considerations: Proposition 65 in California
- Brief Overview of Complementary Practice Areas
Interested in this webinar? Have FDA questions to ask? Please register here.
Source: Austrade | Image: iStock
Western Australian agricultural exports are thriving in the United Kingdom with exports of lamb and mutton growing to $22 million in 2023-24.
This growth follows the WA Government's successful 'red meat mission' to the UK, led by Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis, and the introduction of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (A-UK FTA), which eliminated more than 99 per cent of tariffs on Australian goods.
During the mission, Minister Jarvis and major Western Australian sheep meat companies met with buyers at Smithfield Market in London, one of Europe's largest wholesale meat markets. The delegation also strengthened relationships with British meat processors and the UK's Minister for State for Food, Farming and Fisheries.
In the first full year of the Free Trade Agreement - Western Australian agricultural exports reached a record $41.3 million, up 15 per cent on the previous year. This was led by growth in sheep meat exports, which rose by six per cent, and wine, which increased by 15 per cent.
Western Australia produces some of the world's finest food and beverage products and the WA Government has been working hard alongside Western Australian businesses to capture lucrative new market opportunities from the Free Trade Agreement, as well as in the European Union.
Several businesses offering a range of WA products from meat and seafood to honey, as well as wine - are already making strides towards entering or increasing sales to the UK market of nearly 67 million people.
Source: WA Gov | Photo: The Telegraph
The Western Australian Government is investing more in research and development to help sheep producers meet the challenges of climate change and demand for sustainably produced meat.
On 17 September, Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis attended the FEED365 spring field day near Katanning along with Western Australian sheep farmers who were keen to hear about new year-round feed options that reduce reliance on costly supplementary feed.
The trials at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Katanning Research Station with Meat and Livestock Australia proved that a combination of forage crops could help sheep producers endure dry seasons, like 2023-24.
Nearby new generation saltbush trials produced enough fodder for sheep in just six months - reducing autumn feed costs by up to 30 per cent, while revitalising the landscape.
The research station is also home to the Sheep Feed Intake Facility - the biggest in Australia -where DPIRD scientists are exploring how to produce more efficient sheep that emit less greenhouse gases in line with increasing market demand.
In addition, DPIRD is evaluating different feed options to reduce methane emissions with its GreenFeed machines, which measure greenhouse gas emissions from sheep and cattle in the paddock.
Source: WA Gov | Photo: Adene Sanchez/stock.adobe
The next edition of evokeAG. will be held on 18-19 February 2025 in Brisbane, Queensland. evokeAG. has evolved into a premier event for the agrifood tech and innovation community, bringing together founders, funders, and adopters, producers, processors, and supply chain partners who turn innovation into action. With such a diverse audience, curating and programming this event is crucial and complex.
For 2025, evokeAG.’s theme is “Common Ground,” aiming to elevate the event to foster the most vital and urgent conversations, unleash big questions, and inspire big ideas. Key stakeholders were invited to participate in the co-designed ideation sessions to achieve this.
The Stakeholder Ideation Session Report is now available to download. Sessions were delivered in June this year as interactive and collaborative online workshops facilitated by Bryce Ives. Stakeholders were asked to address key questions about the theme of Common Ground, what evokeAG. should explore and avoid and what big questions should be left in the minds of delegates.
The co-design sessions were well attended, with over 60 stakeholders engaged in the process, and specific workshops for stakeholders were delivered with the evokeAG. Steering Committee, the AgriFutures Board and staff, and representatives from the 15 Research and Development Corporations (RDCs). Additionally, the team delivered two sessions open to the general public to ensure diverse perspectives.
Source: AgriFutures | Image: evokeAG
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.
