World Grain - April 2014 - 94

C

FEATURE

NEPAL

H

I

N

A

BHUTAN

P A C I F I C

AUSTRALIAN
BANGLADESH

MYANMAR

LAOS

INDIA

VIETNAM

PHILIPPINES

THAILAND

KAMPUCHEA

GRAINS
BRUNEI

MALAYSIA

MALAYSIA

SRI LANKA

SINGAPORE

I

I N D I A N

N

D

O

N

E

S

I

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

A

O C E A N

INDUSTRY
FIJI

NEW CALEDONIA

AUSTRALIA

CONFERENCE
O C E A N

I

t was no accident that the 2014 Australian Grains Industry
Conference (AGIC) was held in the heart of Southeast Asia
this year. Leaving Australia's shores for the ﬁrst time, AGIC's
usual cast of Australia-based handlers, traders and growers
landed in Singapore in a bid to reach out directly to buyers.
Around 60% of Australia's grain production is exported
each year on average and most is now shipped to Asian customers, as pointed out by Peter Reading, chair of Grains Trade
Australia (GTA).
"This trend has been exacerbated in recent years with Asian
markets now taking 70% of wheat exports," he said.
Indeed, some 50% of Australian grain exports are now purchased by just ﬁve countries - Indonesia, Japan, South Korea,
Vietnam and India.
Hosted by GTA, the Australian Oilseeds Federation (AOF)
and Pulse Australia, AGIC Singapore attracted delegates from
Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, China, Singapore,
Thailand, Vietnam and Korea in addition to a sizeable
Australian contingent. The event was, as GTA's Geoff Honey
put it, an opportunity for the Australian grains industry "to
hear ﬁrst-hand from its customers."
A raft of leading executives told delegates that Asian demand
for grains will continue to expand for the next decade and more
as Asia's middle class swells and traditional rice-based diets are
supplemented by more grain and meat consumption. But while
Australia is well positioned geographically to supply Asia, its
grains industry faces multiple challenges if production is to be
sufﬁciently increased, and competition for market share from
rivals in North America and the Black Sea will be ﬁerce.
94

by Michael King

Hosted in Singapore, Asia's foremost
trading hub, 2014 AGIC proves
valuable for buyers and sellers
In his opening address Reading lauded Australia's reputation
"for delivering a quality product to our customers" aided by the
formidable advantage of its proximity to Australia and the ocean
freight advantage this offered. But he also issued a stark warning
to his members and peers, one echoed throughout the conference.
"It would be an absolute folly to expect that Asian customers will place future orders based purely on past performance,
and as we all know freight advantages can evaporate," he said.
After hearing from millers that for many Asian products,
such as instant noodles, the highest quality grain was not always
what buyers required, Ron Storey, head of NZX Agribusiness
Australia, said the take-home message for Australia and its
growers was that output needed to be "ﬁt for purpose."
"The most proﬁtable answer may not be the highest grade,"
he added.
Storey said Australia had been on a ﬁve- to six-year run of
high output across its major grain crops during which time the
only major shift in growing patterns was a slight shift towards
canola, which now represents 10% of the crop.
The big change during this period has been on the buying
April 2014 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - April 2014
