CHINA'S value to Australia's cattle and lamb supply chains is at the forefront of a new memorandum of understanding between the two meat sectors signed yesterday.
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Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive officer Patrick Hutchinson signed The China Australia Red Meat Agreement (CARMA) with the China Meat Association in Chengdu, China, on behalf of his organisation, Meat & Livestock Australia and the Australian Meat Processor Corporation.
The MOU is the result of 18 months of preparations and discussions which kicked off at the China International Meat Industry Week in 2018 and Mr Hutchinson said it underlined a commitment to collaboration on both sides.
"China is the biggest export market for Australian meat, and maintaining and enhancing our relationship with this critical partner is essential for the future of our industry. This MOU serves to reinforce the strong value our sector places on the relationship and our great respect for China as a very important trading partner," he said.
In the year to August, Australia has sent more than 172,000 tonnes of beef, 45,000 tonnes of lamb and 39,000 tonnes of mutton to China, with a total market value of close to $2 billion.
"The aim of this MOU is to establish long-term and formal cooperative relations, strengthen effective and practical food safety processes and enable bilateral exchanges around technical know-how, marketing, and research and development investment. Ultimately, the MOU will help secure trade outcomes that are beneficial to all parties," Mr Hutchinson said.
The longer-term aims of the MOU include development of both sides' red meat industries, an enhanced supply chain for Australian meat into China, and working to streamline product specifications and labelling requirements.
"Demand for Australian meat products continues to grow in China and this MOU is another step towards securing and growing this important relationship," Mr Hutchinson said.
Under the terms of the MOU, a working group to help implement the goals of the CARMA will be formed to initiate the cooperative program.
Australia's Minister for Agriculture Bridget McKenzie welcomed the finalisation of the MOU, describing it as a demonstration of the depth of relationship between our meat industry and the Chinese industry.
"It's formalising a partnership that has been years in the making and will mature even further through this approach," she said.
"Chinese consumers enjoy Australia's safe, high quality, sustainable food and fibre and red meat is a critically important part of that."
