In today’s Talking Points: Australian water in demand for Chinese craft brewery industry; NDRC announced plans to boost domestic production of oilseeds; Australia signs new deal with global e-commerce giant Alibaba; Lucrative ‘Suitcase trade’ providing Chinese-Australians easy millions
Australian water in demand for Chinese craft brewery industry
South Australian water company PH8 has been in talks with a number of Chinese craft breweries after it picked up the gold medal at a Chinese drinking water trade show in July. Water makes up 90% of the ingredients in beer, and its calcium and magnesium content are important for the flavour and clarity. PH8’s water is naturally filtered through black limestone on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia giving the water it’s trace mineral content and alkalinity. China’s drinking water market is worth almost US$50 billion per year, twice that of the U.S and beer sales in China have increased 3.1% year on year for five years to US$32.6 billion.
Source: Food Navigator-Asia
NDRC announced plans to boost domestic production of oilseeds
China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced on Friday plans to massively increase domestic production of soybean and rapeseed and shrink corn sowings in an effort to rebalance the domestic grain market. China is the world’s biggest soybean consumer, largely driven by rising meat consumption and demand for edible oils. China is expected to import 86 million tonnes of soybeans this season, with domestic production at only 12.5 million tonnes. The NDRC plans to increase this 37% by 2020 and also plans to increase rapeseed by 10% over the same period.
Source: Agrimoney
Australia signs new deal with global e-commerce giant Alibaba
A new deal between Australia and China-based Alibaba will help Australian food producers and other businesses gain more access to greater markets by selling their goods online. Having already more than 1300 Australian brands on the platform, there is a large potential for Australian business to grow. With an increase in demand for Australian products such as oats and cereal, beef, dairy, natural skincare and active-wear products, the deal signals a huge movement for these businesses to reach the Chinese market.
Source: SBS News
Lucrative ‘Suitcase trade’ providing Chinese-Australians easy millions
The ‘suitcase trade’ has turned around 40,000 students and businesspeople from China into professional shoppers. Each shopper earns around $40,000 a year by sourcing Australian consumer products like milk powder, baby formula and Weet-bix to Chinese buyers. Buyers want high quality, authentic products and are willing to pay the price, often four times the original retail price. Trusted manufacturers are becoming increasingly important for Chinese buyers, especially for products like baby formula after the death of numerous Chinese babies from poisoned baby formula.
Source: Daily Telegraph