Celebrating rice exports to the Middle East

A bi-partisan event to celebrate and highlight the importance of Australian grown rice was held in Sydney on Monday last week.

Coordinated by SunRice, the event had a Middle Eastern theme and was attended by NSW parliamentarians and government and industry officials.

Riverina-based ricegrowers were also represented, with Ricegrowers Association of Australia Berriquin branch chair and Finley grower Warren Lang one of the guests.

NSW Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair also attended the event.

SunRice chief executive officer Rob Gordon said the evening specifically aimed to highlight the reach of the Australian company in export markets and how collabora- tion between the rice industry and NSW Government has played an important role in underpinning this international success.

Guests dined on a three course Middle Eastern-themed meal featuring Riverina grown rice marketed under the Sunwhite brand.

It is one of the leading consumer brands in the Middle East and its sales have grown considerably over the past few years.

SunRice exported more than 120,000 tonnes of branded product to Middle East markets during the 2016 financial year compared to 97,000 tonnes in 2013.

Mr Gordon and SunRice general manager consumer markets David Keldie explained Sunwhite is also an outstanding example of partnership between the NSW Government, Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation (RIRDC), SunRice and Australian rice growers, leading to the development of the Reiziq rice variety.

It was specifically developed to suit the temperate climate of the Riverina region and to appeal to Middle Eastern consumers.

‘‘Over three million tonnes of rice are consumed per annum in the Middle East,’’ Mr Gordon said.

‘‘SunRice is the market leader in the Japonica segment, with a 33 per cent share with the Sunwhite brand.

‘‘Over the past year, driven by our ongoing investment, including the opening of an office in Dubai, we continued to deliver exceptional growth in the region, including strong market share gains in all markets across the Gulf Co-operative States and Jordan.

‘‘For example, Sunwhite has a total market value share approaching 60 per cent in both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).’’

Mr Gordon said as a part of SunRice’s strategy to respond to consumer trends, SunRice launched brown rice ships in the Middle East in September.

‘‘It was in response to increasing demand for healthy snacking options, with the shelves in a major retailer emptied almost as quickly as they were filled.

‘‘We expect that around 100 tonnes of the chips will be sold in the Middle East this year through major grocery and convenience retailers in over 1000 different outlets across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait.

‘‘Our success in the Middle East demonstrates the important contribution Australia’s rice industry makes to the country’s export economy, as well as regional New South Wales, where SunRice proudly employs almost 700 staff, predominantly in the Riverina.’’