Industry pushes for lupin human food markets in India and China

WA’s $295 million pulse industry has set its sights on cracking into the elusive lupin as human food markets in India, China and Japan. WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan hosted a round-table with lupin food companies in Perth last month, to talk about how the fledgling lupin human food market could propel forward. The meeting included lupin food heavy hitters My Provincial Kitchen, The Lupin Co, WA Lupins Pinarie, and ASX-listed Wide Open Agriculture. Ms MacTiernan said the State was working with the Federal Government to “fast-track” food safety approvals for lupin exports to India. The two governments are preparing a submission for consideration by India’s food regulator to allow lupins to be sold for human consumption. Once submitted, the time frame and approval process sits with the Indian Government, but industry hopes it could be approved in the next 12 months. Lupins gained market access to India in 2014 with a swag of biosecurity conditions, but they are not currently recognised as a food for human consumption in that country. “We see lupins as an extremely important future crop for WA farmers, strengthening soil health and providing a valuable cash crop,” Ms MacTiernan said. “Unfortunately, comparative prices for lupins have seen the harvest drop from a peak of 1.6 million tonnes in 1996 to just 360,000 tonnes predicted this season. “We need to develop demand to get better prices.” Australian lupins can be sold for human consumption in more than 30 international markets, with South Korea the biggest buyer, followed by Japan and the Netherlands. The India push would be the first attempt the Federal Government had made to gain new lupins as human food markets since it tried to gain entry into China in 2010. A Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment spokesman said China “had not responded to the request” and Australia’s technical market access submission. Individual exporters wanting to send lupins internationally should refer to the Federal Government’s Manual of Importing Country Requirements, which sets of the requirements that exporters and DAWE require for products and commodities to be accepted for import. The DAWE spokesman said the Manual of Importing Country Requirements were only created on an as-needed basis, and the absence of a relevant case might not mean we do not have access for lupins to that particular country. “For example, we may have access for lupins for consumption and stockfeed to Azerbaijan, but there is no MICoR case because there has been no historical trade to this market and no one has asked for export certification for lupins to Azerbaijan,” he said Ms MacTiernan said the roundtable participants and the State Government had agreed on a need to promote lupins as a health food product. “In the Eastern States, plant protein has been a major new industry and we need to get into this space,” she said. “We also need to support further R&D into lupin processing and products in WA. “We are examining opportunities at the Peel Food Hub, to ensure the facility caters for lupin company requirements.” Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development agribusiness, food and trade manager Courtney Draper said forum participants agreed on four outcomes for the department and industry to work on together. This included international market access, promoting lupins as food, the need for some pilot facilities for sample testings, and challenges posed by maximum residue limits in international markets. “An outcome from the meeting was that DPIRD would work with the USDA to get approval for lupins for human consumption in India,” Ms Draper said. “Another key message was to promote lupins as a food both domestically and internationally… we saw that could be one through two different avenues.” “One is by having a scientifically-endorsed portal, that can be a one-stop shop for consumers or dieticians, coupled with a marketing campaign on social media. “Industry recognised they need some small pilot facilities, and opportunities to do some sample testings. The Minister has asked us to see how the Peel Food Hub could be used to help us. “The fourth area was maximum residue limits and looking at breeding opportunities for lupin as food.”