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Abstract
Food and agricultural producers across Australia and
New Zealand are increasingly turning their attention
to their close neighbours on the Asian continent. The
proximity of almost a third of the world’s population has
always been impossible to ignore; however, the region
has taken on a new level of significance in recent times
as developing countries across Asia have embarked
upon their journeys of economic transformation.
Rising incomes across Asia and the changing dietary
habits of households have already had a significant influence on many
global agricultural markets and trade flows. This influence is expected to
strengthen in coming years as the region increases its share of the global
economy, while remaining somewhat limited in its ability to satisfy its
own growing needs and wants for food and fibre products. Indeed, the
dawning of the so-called ‘Asian Century’ holds great promise, but it also
presents a great challenge to Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) food
and agricultural producers. Understanding the business risks of supplying
a diverse economic, cultural and political region is critical for ANZ
farmers and agribusinesses to maximise the value of their expansion into
Asia. Improving their understanding of these factors will also allow ANZ
agribusinesses to better respond to the opportunities emerging in Asia at
the right scale. Developing strong partnerships along the supply chain and
across borders will be critical to the success of Australia and New Zealand
in capturing value in the growing Asian markets. Increasingly, consumers
across Asia are demanding high levels of food safety and traceability, with
many willing and able to pay a premium for the clean and green food we
produce. Australia and New Zealand together supply less than 10% of Asia’s
total food and agricultural imports: our focus needs to be on leveraging the
many attributes of agricultural sectors at the high-value end of the market.