A busy month for Qld
WHAT a month of activity for the region. Let’s recap some key points from the month and success for our local food and agricultural businesses.
Firstly, the Federal Budget was handed down and included $51.3 million across four years to grow agriculture and food exports. The funding will allow the appointment of five new agricultural counsellor positions in Vietnam, Malaysia, the Middle East, China and Thailand to help exporters seize opportunities in global food chains.
Of particular relevance to the region, their efforts will be focused on maintaining and improving current market access arrangements for our agricultural products. Given the recent beef plant accreditation issues with China and Indian pulse tariffs, this is a strong move by the Federal Government to give consistency to our exporting businesses.
The budget also allocated $4.7 million in new funding to Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences for an expanded supplementary survey that will collect data on labour matters affecting agriculture.
This analysis will help to inform employment and labour market programs and ensure future government programs are built to best assist the changing agricultural labour market. While this won’t deliver any benefits now, it’s a step in the right direction to correcting what is a major restriction on ag and food business growth – labour availability.
From the budget announcement, we moved straight into Beef Week and it was great to see this region’s beef industry so well represented.
NH Foods from Oakey was one of only three suppliers of premium grade beef for the official functions, again showcasing the regional strength of our premium products. This leads on from Mort and Co being awarded the Grand Champion Branded Beef product for its Phoenix brand at the recent Australian Wagyu Association Branded Beef Competition.
The strength of the region’s beef supply chain, right from breeders to retailers, is the envy of Australia and the number of ag tech companies coming out of our region will ensure we remain in this position. Businesses such as Direct Injection Technologies, which is supplying remote dosing systems for large pastoral businesses, are examples of the innovative culture we have in the region.
This leads on to the nation’s largest innovation event currently under way in Brisbane, Myriad. We’re leading a delegation of 10 regional businesses to this event, representing all regions throughout southern Queensland and industries from CSG and beef to transport, accounting and digital technologies.
We’re excited to showcase the level of innovation occurring in regional Australia, but also to personally help these businesses attract investment, grow their markets and increase their networks at this fantastic event.
This week is also the last week for attendees to book a seat on the Access NZ Trip that departs Toowoomba Wellcamp on June 11 for five days. For food and ag businesses there is a full agenda tailored around learning from the best in the game in regional branding, horticultural exports and the chance to attend the largest ag field day in the southern hemisphere. Please contact the TSBE office to book your seat on this history-making trip, leaving from our backyard here at Wellcamp.
In the coming weeks we’ll announce the nine businesses accepted in the Emerging Exporters Program and we’re currently working with State and Federal government departments on bringing current and emerging exporters together through clustering and advocating for a regional export hub based here in Toowoomba.
If you want to hear more about any of the above or wish to discuss any matter relating to food and ag within the region, please don’t hesitate to contact myself at the TSBE office.
❝It was great to see this region’s beef industry so well represented. — Bruce McConnel