Page 8 - Australian Pork Newspaper

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We use whole soya beans not gradings to supply you with a quality meal
APL’s strong presence in China builds support behind the scenes
IT’S been a busy 12 months for Australian Pork Limited in China, bookended by partici- pation in the Shanghai Food and Beverage Expo events (SIAL Shanghai) in May 2017 and again in May 2018.
Apart from the SIAL activities, major APL ini- tiatives in China included attending and presenting at the Global Pig Forum in Shandong province with representatives of Aus- tralian industry; conduct- ing a survey and publish- ing a report on Chinese importers’ attitudes to Australian pork; attend- ing the International Food Policy Summit in Guang- zhou; negotiating and signing a co-operation agreement with the China Quarantine Association; and hosting a delegation
Policy
from the China Cuisine Association at Pan Pacific Pork Expo 2018.
To co-ordinate these activities and support the strategic initiatives, APL contracts China-based Yanina Feng to work day- to-day in Beijing.
Yanina is a trade advisor assisting industries with market access to China.
She has extensive con- tacts in Chinese govern- ment and has worked with the Spanish pork industry to facilitate their market access protocol.
This activity was so suc- cessful that Spain is now China’s second-largest foreign supplier of pork.
On behalf of APL, Yani- na maintains regular con- tact with Chinese officials and regulators to continue building awareness and support for Australia’s pork export protocol.
Over the past 12 months, Yanina has achieved the following in China on be- half of APL:
• Positioning Australian pork as a safe and good- quality product deserving of market access to China;
• Making the importers familiar with and excited about Australian pork;
• Taking the first con- crete step in the market access protocol journey – receiving the question- naire from the Chinese customs authorities; and
operative agreement with China Entry/Exit Customs, Inspection and Quarantine Association to enhance future work.
To help producers learn more about her work in China, Yanina gave us the inside scoop on her past 12 months’ activities.
“My work fits broadly into a few categories,” Ya- nina said.
“The first category is to actively strengthen good relationships with Chi- nese stakeholders.”
These stakeholders in- clude the General Ad- ministration of Customs China and its subsidiary, the Food Safety Bureau, which is responsible for considering Australia’s pork export health pro- tocol, and so is a top-tier priority for Yanina and APL.
“Every month I make sure to have two or more interactions with FSB of- ficials,” Yanina said.
“These regular engage- ments have served to remind FSB officials of APL’s request for market access while maintaining a good overall relation- ship.
“Although practical pro- gress on market access has been limited, due to out- side factors, the relation- ship with FSB has been kept on ‘standby’, ready to be leveraged more fully when the timing is better.
“Last year, FSB sent De- partment of Agriculture and Water Resources the market access question- naire for Australian pork.
“Every month I check with contacts in FSB to see if they have received responses from the Aus- tralian side.
“This allows APL to verify the status of ne- gotiations, independent of DAWR and the Aus- tralian Government.”
Yanina has also engaged with local officials of the
various local Customs, In- spection, and Quarantine Bureaus, including those bureaus in Tianjin, Shang- hai, Canton and Shenz- hen.
“Although we can’t cur- rently export to China, these officials are not only officers of the local CIQ, they are also experts called on by the FSB,” Yanina said.
“That is to say, when the FSB needs to draft a new protocol for a specif- ic product with a specific country, they will invite relevant experts, including the officials I engage.”
Other priority relation- ships APL maintains through Yanina include those with the China Certification and Ac- creditation Administra- tion, the China Entry/Exit Customs, Inspection and Quarantine Association, the China Meat Associa- tion, the China Chamber of Commerce of Food- stuffs and Native Produce and the China Animal Agriculture Association.
APL has placed particu- lar emphasis on devel- oping co-operation with CIQA in the past year, including maintaining more frequent dialogue with them, inviting them to attend PPPE in May 2018, and signing a new co-operative agreement.
The second category of work Yanina performs is to represent the Australian pork industry at different fairs and seminars related to the sector.
“Not only do I learn valuable information about China’s changing
consumer and regulatory environment to pass back to APL, but many Chi- nese officials attend these seminars, and I am always on hand to remind them of our protocol request,” Yanina said.
Yanina also endeavours to maintain good rela- tionships with Australian stakeholders in the Chi- nese market, mainly the Australian Embassy and the Australian Chamber of Commerce (Beijing).
Throughout the year, she supported activities related to APL’s market access goals.
This included the Am- bassador’s breakfast brief- ing, where she met with Embassy-based DAWR officials, as well as target- ed visits to key Australian diplomats to keep up the pressure.
“The Ambassador knows well that APL is making the effort to get pork market access from China, and she said to me: Good luck!”
Not only does Yanina communicate with gov- ernment stakeholders in China and Australia, but also with officials of like- minded countries, such as the Danish Agricultural Commission, INAPORC (French pork federation), Germany Meat Associa- tion and others.
This helps APL learn from the experiences of the big export countries to the Chinese market, gain- ing a better understanding of what are they doing and informing APL’s future activities and strategic initiatives with China.
by ANDREW ROBERTSON Policy Manager – Trade and Workforce
• Signing
a new co-
AUSTRALIAN PORK LIMITED
POSITION VACANT
Manager – Technology Adoption and Industry Capability
A challenging and exciting opportunity exists to join Australian Pork Limited’s (APL) Research & Innovation Division.
The Manager, Technology Adoption and Industry Capability position is focused on maximising producer’ awareness and adoption of new technologies, innovations and management practices position involves the management and further development of APL’s technology adoption R&D portfolio in keeping with APL’s Strategic Plan and dissemination of the research outcomes to industry stakeholders.
The successful applicant will be required to work both independently and as part of a team.
To be successful in this role you will:
• working in the pork industry
• have a strong practical knowledge of all aspects of pig production
• have a detailed knowledge of the Australian pig industry
• have excellent verbal and written communication skills
• have strong and demonstrable experience in communicating technical outcomes to a varied stakeholder base
• have a demonstrated ability to write and review technical reports
• identify potential RD&E projects
• have experience in managing portfolio budgets.
This position is permanent, full time and based in Canberra. Remuneration will be negotiated commensurate with experience.
For further information and a copy of the position description, contact Heather Channon, General Manager, Research & Innovation on email heather.channon@australianpork.com.au or mobile 0423 056 045.
Applications close Friday 13 July 2018
Yanina Feng with the Australian Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, Her Excellency Jan Elizabeth Adams.
Farm production value forecast to rise in mixed agricultural outlook
THE value of farm production is forecast to reach $61.4 billion in 2018-19, well above the 10-year average of $55 billion (in real terms), according to ABARES Agricultur- al commodities: June quarter 2018.
ABARES executive director Dr Steve Hat- field-Dodds said while some sectors may see a decline in production next year as a result of the drier than average autumn conditions, the forecast rise in the over- all value of farm pro- duction was good news.
“Although the first quarter of 2018 was marked by hot and dry conditions, particu-
larly in eastern Aus- tralia, the value of crop production in 2018-19 is forecast to remain unchanged at $31 bil- lion,” Dr Hatfield- Dodds said.
“We’re also expect- ing the value of live- stock production to rise by 3 percent to $30 billion, contributing to growth.
“Strong demand for Australian lamb, wool and cotton exports is expected to partly off- set weaker demand for Australian beef and veal, and falling crop exports.
“Despite a higher value of production, the value of exports is forecast to fall by 2 per-
cent to $47 billion in 2018-19, as export earn- ings decline for barley, canola, chickpeas and sugar.”
Export earnings for fisheries products are also forecast to increase by 1 percent in 2018-19 to $1.6 billion, on the back of an estimated 9 percent increase in 2017-18.
Ongoing risks to the agricultural sector in- clude the persistence of dry conditions beyond winter in eastern Aus- tralia, and increasing competition in key ex- port markets.
The full analysis can be found at agriculture. gov.au/ag-commodities -report
Page 8 – Australian Pork Newspaper, July 2018
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