Uncategorised

Australia has fallen behind in race to feed China, Andrew Forrest

Mining billionaire, Andrew Forrest says that Australia has fallen behind other export nations such as Brazil in the race to cater to China’s demand for beef.

Forrest, the owner of Western Australia’s largest beef producer and exporter, Harvey Beef, said that Australia is at risk of repeating the same mistakes made within the iron ore industry which enabled countries such as Brazil to capitalise on billions in export sales.

Forrest says that as is stands, Australia is not properly playing to its strengths or competing strategically in the international marketplace.

"We pride ourselves on producing some of the best food in the world and that pride is justified," Forrest told The West. "But are we competing well enough? No.

"I'm afraid we are not the ones feeding China. It is all the other big agricultural nations.

Forrest says that in order for the country to compete effectively on an international scale, Australia’s agricultural sector needs to undergo significant change including amendments to foreign policies and well as working towards developing solid client relationships.

"Our politicians and industry leaders need to take a very cold shower because if we take our clients for granted, they will go somewhere else,” he said.

"They did it in the iron ore industry because of union instability and because we were so focused on competing with one another."

In order to boost trade with China, Forrest formed the Australia-Sino 100 Year Agricultural Partnership which has the backing of the Business Council of Australia and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Forrest is also reported to have been discussing the initiative with the world’s largest meat protein supplier, China’s WH Group.

"We (Australia) have got to stop slapping ourselves on the back and look over the boundary fence and see how tough farmers have been doing it," he said.

"If farmers hadn't been doing it tough for the past 20 years, we could believe the rhetoric, but it is bulldust. We are not the food bowl of Asia.

"If you go into almost any supermarket in China, you see Uruguay, you see Brazil, you see Argentina, all these other countries providing meat and produce. Where is Australia? It is not there."

 

Send this to a friend