Trade & export masterclass, dairy and wine workshops
The Food Industry Innovation project recently supported three regional workshops supporting the Bunbury Geographe Economic Alliance, Dairy Australia and Wine Australia.
Bunbury Geographe masterclass series centres on trade and export
Getting export ready was on the agenda for around 20 regional businesses who attended a trade and export forum, part of a Masterclass series, held in Bunbury in early November 2018.
The Masterclass series is a key initiative for the Bunbury Geographe Economic Alliance (BGEA), supporting its members, businesses region wide and the local food and beverage industry on their quest to conquer barriers to export.
Chris McNamara CEO of the BGEA said the forum helped answer many questions the businesses had including is their business ready to export, opportunities in the China market and how to overcome barriers to export.
“Our first class was an introduction to the work of Tradestart and how to organise financing opportunities in the Chinese Market,” Mr McNamara said.
“The WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry presented on international engagement and insights and perspectives on doing business internationally and the South West Development Commission presented on Tradestart and other funding opportunities available to exporters”.
A trade promotion opportunity for premium wine and food businesses was presented by the Bunbury – Jiaxing Business Development Office who provided examples of their services, how to find suitable markets and an introduction to the city of Jia-Xing. The Office facilitates trade along with education and cultural relationships between the sister cities.
Efic, the Australian Government’s export credit agency described who they are and how they can help. Success stories including a micro wine business, blueberry variety breeder and a contractor providing services for the mining, oil and gas industries formed part of their presentation. Further information and resources are available on the Efic website.
Jon Berry, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s WA Premium Food Centre manager spoke about the Food Industry Innovation project. Services offered to support the growth of Western Australia’s regional premium value add food and beverage producers included independent market research, a new business support initiative Expert for a Day and a series of capability building workshops.
Mr Berry said he was pleased to be a part of collaborative efforts to boost exporting in the Bunbury Geographe region and emphasised the department was keen to engage with businesses manufacturing food and beverages across the state.
Participants had the opportunity for round table discussions with the speakers following the event.
The trade and export forum was presented in partnership by the Bunbury Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business South West, Bunbury Geographe Economic Alliance, South West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.
Future export events will be scheduled by the BGEA, contact admin@bwea.com.au for more information.
Accelerate your dairy business growth
Tools to develop a successful dairy processing business were the focus of the ‘Accelerate your dairy business growth’ workshop offered by the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development’s Food Industry Innovation project in Albany in August 2018.
In partnership with Dairy Australia, Department of Health, Western Australia and the federal government’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources the workshop was presented by Mike Harley from XPotential and attended by local industry members.
The Department of Health WA provided instruction on how to manage domestic and export regulatory requirements and key learnings around understanding domestic and export market opportunities were presented by XPotential. Marketing and branding advice allowed for identification of growth strategies in the domestic markets.
Workshop attendees from small to medium sized dairy processing enterprises gained valuable knowledge and learned skills to assist them in their business growth journey.
Participants expressed positive feedback of attendance including:
- the benefit of facilitating collaboration with other businesses
- the opportunity for specific one-on-one branding advice
- the opportunity to meet with the Department of Health and other levels of government to establish contacts for future assistance.
The Food Industry Innovation project is helping Western Australia’s premium food and beverage businesses achieve their growth plans by offering a range of tools and support services to address their needs, gaps and barriers to domestic and international growth.
For more information about upcoming workshops please contact the team at email foodindustryinnovation@dpird.wa.gov.au or phone +61 (0)8 9892 8415.
Growing wine exports
Wine businesses in Western Australia were recently provided the opportunity to develop and fine-tune their export strategies to take advantage of Australia’s current strong wine export growth.
Through the Growing Wine Exports Program coordinated by Wine Australia, workshops were held in Margaret River, the Swan Valley and Albany during October 2018.
Experts in the wine sector provided participants with new tools and strategies for navigating export markets in addition to receiving useful examples provided by wineries who have ‘been there and done that’. They also provided practical advice on protecting brands and calculating risk.
Participants in the workshop received automatic registration to Wine Australia’s online learning portal – a one-stop shop for advice and assistance on growing export opportunities plus access to a dedicated Twitter account (@exportingwine) and a Facebook page (Growing Wine Exports) to support participants in their continuous learning.
The workshops were presented with cooperation and support from the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development, the Great Southern Development Commission and the Great Southern Wine Producers Association.
Western Australian wine businesses are invited to use the Growing Wine Exports resources available from Wine Australia.