Page 6 - Australian Pork Newspaper

New ham promotion for a new decade
THE last time we cre- ated a new marketing approach was the ‘Get Some Pork on Your Fork’ cheeky advertis- ing campaign back in 2010.
Now it’s 2020 and time to dust off the imagina- tion and try something we haven’t tried before.
Every week, about four million kilograms of imported pork lands on our shores.
That’s about $17 mil- lion worth and you all know the impact that’s had on you and the Aus- tralian pig industry.
Unfortunately, most people are still shocked to learn that the major- ity of the ham and bacon they’re buying is made from imported pork.
They simply don’t know.
To help counter that, we’ve just kicked off a new advertising cam- paign in Adelaide.
Set to be officially launched on February 10 at PorkStar Adelaide, the new ads aim to raise consumer awareness.
We’re trying to get them to buy Australian ham particularly, but most people think they are, so we’re going back
Marketing Matters
a step to educate them and hopefully change their behaviour.
That’s why the first phase of the campaign focuses on raising awareness, while the second will focus on helping them choose Australian ham.
This is a project Julia Unwin has been work- ing on with our insights team since mid-2018.
They’ve made sure the foundations of the cam- paign are strong.
It has involved re- search, which showed consumers had no idea their ham and bacon might not be made from 100 percent Australian pork.
The team is aiming to maintain the number of packs of ham and bacon bought in total, just to
make more of them Aus- tralian meat.
The ads created hope- fully do just that and in a light-hearted way that is both entertaining but educational and will motivate consumers to change their behaviour.
The ads are being rolled out on television and radio in metropoli- tan Adelaide.
You may recall we did something similar with the 6-2-2 campaign.
We’ll be closely watch- ing to see how this cam- paign is received and we hope to roll it out nation- ally in the future.
Of course, this is also an area that can be con- sidered contentious.
In the past, APL has been reluctant to com- municate the amount of imported pork in ham
and bacon due to fear around the risk of dam- age to the entire cat- egory.
Throughout 2019, we have communicated broadly with industry and have been working closely with stakeholders.
We have also taken a great deal of legal ad- vice for all television and radio scripts prior to airing.
The campaign is set to run for five months.
In that time, we’re also working with retailers, foodservice outlets and using PR and media en- gagement to further am- plify this trial in South Australia.
We’re looking forward to hearing what Ad- elaide consumers think of the new ads.
We will also have a new Facebook page: Aussie Bacon and Ham.
This will be a new communication tool to help us respond to consumers looking for recipe inspiration, tips, tricks and where to buy, particularly in South Australia.
The campaign will of- ficially launch on Febru- ary 10.
by PETER HAYDON General Manager Marketing
US-China trade deal: what does it mean for Australian pork?
THE US and China signed a trade agreement on January 15 in Wash- ington in an attempt to settle some of the US complaints around Chi- na’s trade and investment practices.
There are some mean- ingful outcomes that will help address US President Donald Trump’s chief bug- bear in the bilateral trade relationship – China’s huge surplus in exports over im- ports.
In other areas where the US has expressed its dis- satisfaction, including in- tellectual property and technology protection, in- dustrial subsidies, and the role of state-owned enter- prises, there has been less progress.
To rectify the trade im- balance between these two great economies, China has committed to buying $US200 billion in addi- tional US products over the next two years.
This amount is broken down into specific sectors, with food and agricultural products accounting for $US32 billion.
To put this amount in perspective, reaching $32 billion in additional agri- food exports to China will require the US to more than double the value of its 2017 food and fibre exports to China.
Policy
This is a huge ask.
Meeting such ambitious targets means the US will expand the range of prod- ucts it exports to China.
To this end, China has made sweeping commit- ments under the agreement to accelerate import pro- tocol negotiations on live breeder cattle, potatoes, nectarines, blueberries, av- ocados, barley, alfalfa hay and more, as well as to restore the trade in chicken meat and greatly expand access for US beef and pork exporters.
China has also agreed to allow or improve access for products it has banned or restricted in the past, in- cluding HGP-treated beef and genetically modified organisms.
This represents a major liberalisation of the Chi- nese agricultural import market, potentially set-
ting a precedent for other exporters (including Aus- tralia) to expand their own access in future.
Interestingly, China has also agreed to review its ban on the importation of meat containing ractopa- mine (Paylean) residues.
On this front, China has produced quite extensive research to support its posi- tion on beta-agonists and most observers expect a re- view does not mean China is on the verge of setting a minimum residue limit on ractopamine.
But we will be watching closely.
Another notable commit- ment within the agreement is this: “the Parties intend to promote co-operative activities within the Global African Swine Fever Re- search Alliance to share publicly available scientific knowledge and information to contribute to the progres- sive control and eradication of African swine fever.”
Producers everywhere should be pleased to see closer co-operation be- tween these two leading powers on combatting the ASF challenge.
What does it all mean for Australia’s pork protocol and market access ambi- tions in China?
Unfortunately, the deal is likely to push our proto- col further into the back- ground.
Chinese officials respon- sible for negotiation of ac- cess protocols will have their hands full in meet- ing the requirements of the US deal for the foreseeable future.
Even if we envisage an improvement in the politi- cal environment, the Chi- nese resourcing and prior- itisation of protocol work would suggest we have a while to wait yet.
Not good news on that front.
On the flipside, we expect to see considerable diver- sion of US pork exports away from markets where they compete with Austral- ian, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, and into the China mainland market, where – unlike Australian red meat exporters – we have nothing to lose.
So, in terms of Australia’s competitiveness in estab- lished export markets, the US-China deal should be a positive.
To capitalise on this and other opportunities in over- seas markets, Australian Pork Limited continues to work with producers and supply chain partners in setting a new international strategy for the industry.
A series of workshops is being held to determine where our priorities should be and how we should ex- ecute them.
If you would like to contribute to this process, please get in touch with me at andrew.robertson@aus tralianpork.com.au or call 02 6270 8888 to discuss.
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Page 6 – Australian Pork Newspaper, February 2020
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by ANDREW ROBERTSON Policy Manager – Trade and Workforce