NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) is engaging with Taiwanese and Chinese beef industry stakeholders to support the Australian Wagyu industry through challenging times.
The Australian Wagyu market, which relies heavily on exports to lucrative global markets, has been impacted by the restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NSW DPI, in partnership with Australian Wagyu Association (AWA), Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), Austrade Taiwan and Meat International Group in Mainland China, have recently held two webinars with industry stakeholders in Taiwan and Mainland China to promote Australian Wagyu and stimulate interest in our premium products.
Ryoko Uchida, from NSW DPI’s International Engagement Unit, said the level of engagement with Taiwanese and Chinese stakeholders through the webinars has been extremely pleasing and participants were appreciative of the opportunity.
“The webinars offered extremely valuable insights from our speakers and we’re confident that they will be successful in increasing the attention on our industry and stimulating increased demand for quality Australian Wagyu products.
“Each webinar was tailored to the needs and interests of the particular market and the feedback has been positive, with many participants requesting we follow up with similar webinars in the future.
“Notably, we were able to establish a live, two-way broadcast with the Austrade office in Taipei where two of our speakers and a group of Taiwanese traders were located. This allowed us to engage in a much more lively, dynamic and interactive conversation compared to a standard webinar broadcast.”
The webinars were developed as the second round of NSW DPI’s successful Australian Wagyu Export Capability Development Program to Mainland China and Taiwan in 2018. They provided participants with an opportunity to hear from Australian, Taiwanese and Chinese industry leaders on a range of topics tailored to each market, including Australian Wagyu industry updates and outlook and market insights and analysis.
“Collaborating with NSW DPI allowed us to maximise the industry connections of their International Engagement Unit and engage successfully with a broad range of stakeholders in key international markets,” said AWA CEO Matt McDonagh.
“The Australian Wagyu sector is the largest global exporter of high value Wagyu beef. Australian Wagyu is different to commodity beef in that it is driven by high-value supply chains and established brands working with premium product markets. Demonstrating the unique capacity of the Australian Wagyu sector to deliver consistent product of the highest quality to meet premium market requirements creates a better understating of our industry and our products.
“The webinars are a great way to generate positive impact for the industry by assisting to demonstrate the Australian Wagyu sector’s leading position in reputation and confidence in our products, especially during the challenging operating environment imposed by global COVID-19 restrictions.”
