In November, 29 Australian agribusiness companies, research and education institutions, and industry associations travelled to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam to explore agribusiness partnerships and food security priorities in the 2 countries.
The mission came at an important time for Southeast Asia as governments and industry strategise how best to support their growing populations' nutritional needs over the next 10 to 20 years.
The visiting Australian delegation engaged in strategic discussions with governments, agribusiness companies, industry leaders and associations. These discussions explored how Australia could partner with Southeast Asia on food security needs and initiatives, underpinned by Australia's agribusiness inputs, commodities, expertise, processes, systems, innovations, skills and education.
Opportunities to boost agricultural productivity and address food security
There is growing demand for high-quality, premium Australian products, as well as protein, dairy and agricultural inputs to support improved agribusiness productivity. Australia can leverage this demand to build on its longstanding agricultural trade with Southeast Asia, and strengthen its position as a strategic partner over the next 2 decades.
During the 4-day mission, delegates explored:
- the strategic agribusiness productivity and food security priorities of the Indonesian and Brunei governments
- pathways to strengthen and grow existing partnerships, leveraging Australia's agribusiness capabilities to address the needs of growing populations in Indonesia and Brunei, including as part of targeted government programs in Indonesia to support childhood nutrition
- opportunities to strengthen productivity through industry partnerships, uplifting human capital through education, training, bilateral skills exchange and research partnerships.
Austrade organised business-matching meetings and curated engagements for the delegates, connecting them with industry leaders and catalysing commercial leads with leading agribusiness companies in Indonesia and Brunei.
Delegates also visited a premium seafood processing plant in Brunei to gain a deeper understanding of Brunei's potential in the aquaculture sector.
'One thing I've learned is patience, because this is a different region from Australia, so we need more time to look into this market,' says Bellamy's Organic Jovi Shi, one of the mission delegates. 'Because of the diversity and the complexity of the region, country by country, we need some extra time and effort to ensure we deliver what we committed to.'
Australian delegates met with Indonesian industry and government as part of a strategic agribusiness mission to Indonesia and Brunei.
Partnerships for mutual benefit
The mission emphasised the critical role of peak industry bodies, industry associations and bilateral chambers, as Australia seeks to diversify and grow two-way trade and investment in Australian agribusiness in Southeast Asia.
Austrade delivered the mission in collaboration with federal, state and territory partners and industry, including the National Farmers' Federation.
'This was a wonderful opportunity to meet and speak with our close partners in Indonesia and Brunei with their government,' says Su McCluskey, Interim CEO of the National Farmers' Federation. 'It gave businesses and other key stakeholders the opportunity to develop deeper partnerships and collaboration, particularly around capacity building and training. We could leverage what we know around agritech and innovation and share that knowledge with our close partners.'
Meat and Livestock Australia's regional manager for Southeast Asia, Valeska, agreed: 'The engagement has been multi-fold, whether it's through education, knowledge exchange, training, marketing promotion, right through to sharing market insights and information. Customers and partners are really able to understand more about Australian beef, lamb and goat.'
Jay Meek, Austrade's General Manager, Trade Diversification Taskforce, was part of the mission. He says it was enlightening to see the opportunities for Australian businesses to work collaboratively in the Indonesia and Brunei markets.
'In Indonesia we're looking to strategically build on well-established trade,' he says. 'Australia can best leverage our holistic agribusiness capabilities, services and products through partnership models that uplift industry and productivity to our mutual benefit.
'In Brunei, we had the opportunity to meet with government officials to talk about their priorities, and how we can help them drive sustainable agriculture in the region. The key here is to see how we can support our Australian companies to diversify into this key market.'
