State Government announces $2 million to get oat rice and noodles on plates

Oat rice and noodles grown by WA farmers and developed by Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre could be on Asian consumers’ plates within years, if a $2 million research project announced this week proves successful. WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan announced the project at a Grain Industry Association of WA forum at Crown Perth on Wednesday night, saying the $2 million State Government spend would be added to the $6 million it has already committed to keep AEGIC operating for the next two years. The project aims to commercialise oat rice and noodles created by AEGIC, which publicly debuted the products at the Grains Research Development Corporation Research Updates in Perth in February. AEGIC developed a processing method for oat “rice”, a product cooked and eaten like regular rice but has the health benefits of oats. AEGIC chief executive Richard Simonaitis said the funding would co-ordinate three research projects, allowing the organisation to “build on prior work in moving oats beyond the breakfast table, positioning white wheat from Australia as the preferred wheat for whole grain products, and developing opportunities for low protein soft wheat in confectionery markets”. “This new funding will allow us to build a compelling body of information demonstrating the value of these Australian wheat for these products in order to develop new markets and increase value,” Mr Simonaitis said. The projects aim to capture a share of growing demand for wheat and oat products in south-east Asia and China, and capitalise on WA’s proximity and reputation as a reliable supplier of safe, quality grain. Ms MacTiernan said the projects aimed to target a share of rapidly growing demand for wheat and oat products in South East Asia and China, capitalising on WA’s convenient proximity and enviable reputation as a reliable supplier of safe, premium quality grain. She said targeting just 10 per cent of these combined wheat markets alone, the projects represented a 2 million metric tonne trade opportunity for WA’s grains industry, worth $600 million a year. Ms MacTiernan said the projects could “generate significant trade opportunities for WA’s grains industry, providing greater flexibility and diversification options for farmers”. “AEGIC has already done tremendous work developing novel oat rice and noodle products, as well as laying the foundations to promote whole grain products and better understand the soft wheat market for bakery products,” she said. “With market intelligence pointing to rising demand from our Asian neighbours for wheat and oat products, now is time to get in on the ground floor and establish WA as a preferred supplier in this very competitive global market. “The research by AEGIC is essential to understand the customer requirements and market potential, from which new grain varieties and farming systems can be developed so WA is in a strong position to capture emerging opportunities. “Having a pipeline of new varieties, products and markets is absolutely critical to strengthen the resilience of our grains industry.” The funding is in addition to the $6 million the State Government has committed to continue AEGIC core operations for two years, matched by co-owner the Grains Research and Development Corporation. GIWA oat council chair Ashley Wiese travelled to China and Taiwan last year to visit potential markets for both oat noodles and rice, and was surprised with what he found. China’s demand for Australian oats has grown over a decade, from 10,000 to 250,000 tonnes a year, but Mr Wiese said there was “huge potential for that market to grow”. “Oats is quite a niche crop which means it is easily oversupplied unless it is built at the same production rate,” Mr Wiese said. “Investing in these novel foods and getting oats into more meals than just breakfast is essential because it opens up a really big growth opportunity for our products. “There is recognition an Asian diet based around rice is lacking in beta glucan ... and a trend towards eating oats to get that. “So this project is wonderful, I have always been an advocate for building markets alongside of improving breeding and agronomy.”