Page 4 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Export opportunities in northeast Asia
BY now most produc- ers will be aware of the huge opportunities for pork exports to the Chi- na market.
Unfortunately, Austral- ian producers are unable to access mainland China as market access protocol discussions continue at government level.
But there are still some excellent opportunities for exporters in our exist- ing northeast Asian trad- ing partners – Japan and South Korea.
Australia’s pork exports to Japan and South Korea have been modest in re- cent years (400 and 800 tonnes respectively in 2017) but we were once a bigger player.
Australian exports lost their competitive position with the rise in value of the Australian dollar in the mid-to-late 2000s and
Policy
have not yet regained their previous share of the im- port market.
I think the time is right to look again at these big markets.
While both have strong domestic pig production industries, their overall imports continue to grow.
For example, Japan’s meat imports in the first
ceeding parity with the US dollar between 2010 and 2013, the Australian dollar is now down by around 30 percent to 71 cents at the time of writ- ing.
This is great news for the competitiveness of our exports.
Coupled with low farm- gate prices, Australian product is looking more attractive to Japanese and South Korean importers.
Australian Pork Limited Marketing Development Manager Peter Smith and I visited Seoul, Osaka and Tokyo from August 4-14 this year.
APL had meetings and engagements with repre- sentatives of South Korean and Japanese importers, retailers, industry asso- ciations and consultants, and spoke to locally based Australian representa-
tives of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Austrade and the Western Australian Government.
In South Korea, APL found a variety of niche opportunities – including in retail-ready meals and e-commerce sales chan- nels – that could prove rewarding for Australian exporters. Success in the highly competitive South Korea pork import market will require differentiated, value-for-money products with strong marketing and promotional support.
Japan is more recep- tive to premium products, where an emphasis on provenance and ‘natural’ qualities plays well.
Lightly processed (such as sliced) and offal prod- ucts were potentially valu- able niches in the Japa- nese market.
Overall, APL assesses that Japan currently pre- sents a marginally better opportunity to grow ex- ports of Australian pork compared to South Korea.
This is based on Japan’s larger overall market size and higher absolute im- port volumes (as well as a higher import share of to- tal consumption), oppor- tunities at the premium
end (where Australia is more likely to be competi- tive) and Australia’s rela- tively favourable access into Japan under the free trade agreement.
A full report of APL’s meetings, along with de- tailed observations, con- clusions and recommen- dations can be accessed in the members-only area of the APL website.
half of 2018 surpassed one million metric tonnes for the first time in 20 years.
Japan is still the second- largest importer of pork globally, and both markets show long-term growth in per-capita consumption.
Even better, the Aus- tralian dollar is heading downwards.
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Page 4 – Australian Pork Newspaper, November 2018
www.porknews.com.au
by ANDREW ROBERTSON Policy Manager – Trade and Workforce
Applications are
open for the largest
global university-level
agriscience competition
SINCE its inception in 2005, the Alltech Young Scientist competitions has had participation of over 60,000 students from more than 70 coun- tries and has awarded $1 million in prizes.
It is considered one of the world’s most pres- tigious agriscience com- petitions for university students and has discov- ered some of the best and brightest upcoming re- searchers from universi- ties around the world.
Applications are now open for the 2019 com- petition.
The Alltech Young Sci- entist competition began in 2005 as an expression of Dr Pearse Lyons’ pas- sion for curiosity and in- novation within educa- tion.
As a scientist, he un- derstood the challenges of research and the ex- citement that comes with breakthroughs that could solve real problems.
Through the Alltech Young Scientist competi- tion, he hoped to create a closer connection between the classroom and the agricultural challenges occurring in the field and on the farm.
Most importantly, he wanted to inspire and showcase the talents of university students who represent tomorrow’s solutions for our planet’s shared future.
New for 2019, the AYS competition is open ex- clusively to university graduate students (mas- ter’s degree and PhD) and professor nominations are no longer required.
Entrants will compete first within their home re- gions of North America, Latin America, Asia-Pa- cific or Europe/Africa.
Then regional winners will be invited to attend an all-expenses-paid Alltech Young Scientist Discovery Week in Lex- ington, Kentucky, where
they will compete in the global competition during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19), which will be held from May 19-21, 2019.
The prizes include $US10,000 for the global graduate winner.
Alltech vice president and chief scientific officer Dr Karl Dawson, “The Alltech Young Scientist competition provides a global stage for the next generation of agriculture scientists to present their research, further their ed- ucation and interact with some of the best scientific and agribusiness minds of our time.”
“We are proud to of- fer this once-in-a-lifetime experience in the hopes of highlighting and re- warding those striving to impact the agriculture in- dustry through scientific research and innovation.”
Registration is currently open for the 2019 com- petition and will close on January 31, 2019.
Students may submit scientific papers on topics such as animal health and nutrition, crop science, agriculture analytical methods, food chain safe- ty and traceability, human health and nutrition and other agriscience-related sectors.
Paper submission may be completed online through January 31, 2019, and regional winners will be announced in April 2019.
Although the competi- tion is for graduate stu- dents, AYS welcomes other budding scientists, from kindergarten and be- yond, to engage with the program on Facebook and Instagram, where you’ll find special contests and other exciting content.
For more informa- tion and to register for the Alltech Young Sci- entist competition, visit AlltechYoungScientist. com