Strong wool eyes China
China looks set to play a key role in helping the New Zealand wool sector shift away from trading as a commodity supplier.
Speaking at the recent at the annual China Dairy Industry Association (CDIA) conference in Beijing, he noted that the Australian dairy industry has enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the Chinese dairy industry.
This includes a range of programmes conducted in the market, including the scholarship and alumni program, by working closely together with China Dairy Industry Association (CDIA), and the CDIA Annual Conference and Dairy Expo, and annual series of workshops and seminars in the market.
“We are committed to both the China market and the CDIA for the long term. With the signing of the China Australian FTA, we expect the long term relationship between the two industries to be further enhanced not only in trade but also in investment.”
Akers said the strong demand for Australian products in China was continuing to grow as the Asian palate becomes more accustomed to dairy.
“We’ve learned that our Chinese customers like to have their options open for sourcing products and are keen to diversify where they source their products and ingredients to limit their exposure,” he said.
“Food safety, quality and consistency is more important and Australia is in a very good position to satisfy this.”
Aside from supplying cheese, milk and powders, Australia has also moved to focus more on supplying branded products for food service, bakery and retail sectors in China.
China is Australia’s fastest growing dairy export market, and is now the largest export market for Australia. In the past eight years (2007-2014), exports increased by more than 300% from 28,000 tonnes to 117,000 tonnes. Value added and premium products such as cheese, milk (mostly UHT) and powders make up the bulk of shipments.
During the conference, Australian Ambassador to China, Frances Adamson hosted a special reception to celebrate Dairy Australia’s Greater China Scholarship Programme, which has been running since 1999.
The programme, involving 240 participants, had been a key to developing and maintaining long term relationships with numerous companies and government officials.
“The programme has been an outstanding success in terms of the long term relationships we’ve established and we’re very proud of that,” Akers says.
“Many participants are now in senior positions in companies in China and have a very strong affinity with Australia having completed the programme.
“We are also very happy to see a number of new commercial business relationships emerging from the programme over the years.”
