Growing South-East Asian markets fuel demand for Australian feed grain

Australia is well-placed to increase feed grain exports into the growing South-East Asian market, but more work is required to strengthen trade relationships This was one of the submissions of a series of public hearings which ran from August 15 to 22 as part of an inquiry by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture. The committee has been instructed to examine the role of Australian agriculture in South-East Asian markets in the context of recommendations included in an economic strategy report prepared for the Federal Government last September. It is focused on how Australian agriculture can support South-East Asia’s food security, improve market access and trade systems and build capability in the region to improve agricultural sustainability, technology and innovation. The committee is also identifying new mechanisms and emerging opportunities and challenges for Australian agriculture to address key priorities in the region. Grain industry leaders presented their submissions to the committee on August 16 and highlighted the feed grain market as one of the biggest opportunities. During 2022-23, Australia exported more than 16 million tonnes of grain to South-East Asia, with wheat accounting for 90 per cent of the total. Demand for feed grain is not limited to land-based livestock, but growing aquaculture and fisheries industries also. Grain Trade Australia projects and operations manager Tim Ross said demographics of South-East Asia including changing markets and diets would result in more animals requiring feeding. He said Australia was well-placed to meet that market but would face competitors from the US and Black Sea countries. “We will have to be on our program to make sure we benefit from that growth from an Australian perspective,” Mr Ross said. The report — titled Invested: Australia’s Southeast Economic Strategy to 2040 — states that by 2040, South-East Asia will be an economic powerhouse fuelled by favourable demographics, industrialisation, urbanisation and technological advances. It projects South-East Asia (as a bloc) will become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2040, after the United States, China and India, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 4 per cent between 2022 and 2040. Fuelling the growing economy is a large and growing population which will lead to greater spending on lifestyle, education and housing, with increasing demand for health and aged care services. Projections suggest that by 2040, based on after-tax income of households, the potential consumer market in South-East Asia will be 10 times bigger than Australia’s.