More than 200 of Vietnam’s food industry leaders, importers, distributors and government representatives gathered in Ho Chi Minh City on 20 September 2023 to dine on Australia’s finest fresh food and premium wines.
The 'Taste the Wonders of Australia' gala dinner was part of the Australian Food and Wine Collaboration Group’s latest export market push, following successful export market access activations in South Korea and Thailand over the past 12 months.
These events provided Wine Australia with the opportunity to team up with Dairy Australia, Meat & Livestock Australia, Seafood Industry Australia and Hort Innovation and meet face-to-face with customers and trade contacts. Discussions focus on market access, consumer demand and future growth opportunities for both countries.
Vietnam is the third country targeted by the Collaboration Group, and Wine Australia General Manager, Marketing Paul Turale said the market provided great opportunities for Australian wine exporters.
“Vietnam continues to show an increasing thirst for Australian wines, with volume up 212 per cent and value up by per cent, both growing strongly over the year to the end of March 2023,” Mr Turale said.
“Through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific-Partnership (CPTPP) and the ASEAN-Australia-NZ Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the tariffs on Australian wine to Vietnam will have started to reduce and will be eliminated by 2028.”
Mr Turale said Wine Australia was committed to developing export opportunities for producers through a range of activities, partnerships and initiatives.
“Our aspiration for Australian wine is to become the origin of choice for Vietnamese wine consumers by providing high quality, flavoursome wines that complement the local cuisine and provide good perceived value as our tariffs decline relative to other countries,” Mr Turale said.
“We believe this can be achieved through in-market activations to build awareness, education and building solid distribution networks to ensure reliable availability.”
Mr Turale said Wine Australia was collaborating with AusCham Vietnam under the AusHub program, and taking part in activities with the Australian Food and Wine Collaboration Group.
“We have engaged a market development manager based in Ho Chi Minh City, which is enabling us to engage in a more consistent, committed way to realise this opportunity for Australian wine producers,” he said.
“The Taste the Wonders of Australia gala dinner and other trade events and roadshows provide a great opportunity for Australian wineries to engage directly with key influencers and decision makers in Vietnam.
“Building relationships, knowledge (both ways), education and the platform to showcase Australia’s diverse portfolio of wines and how they complement the many cuisine styles.”
The menu for the gala dinner illustrated the true strengths and depth of Australian agriculture products. Wines from some of Australia’s premier growing regions accompanied premium lamb and steak, served with fresh citrus, seasonal vegetables, almonds and macadamias, along with fresh lobster, abalone and mussels, butter, yoghurt, cream cheese and ice cream.
The event was attended by government representatives from both countries, including the Australian Consul-General, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Sarah Hooper and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Vietnam (Austrade) Rebecca Ball.
More than just a dinner, the event provided Wine Australia with the rare opportunity to work alongside some of Australia’s other influential agriculture representative groups through Australia’s Nation Brand approach.
Dairy Australia General Manager Trade and Industry Strategy Charles McElhone said the Team Australia was proving successful in developing export opportunities and optimising valuable resources across the five member organisations.
“These key trade customers are buying dairy today, wine tomorrow and red meat the next day, so it makes sense for us to work as a group when we talk to them,” Mr McElhone said.
“We are all big industries, significant exporters in our own right and have been working in Vietnam for many years with our own individual commodity programs, but this gives us an added opportunity to come together and work as one unit.
“There’s a huge amount of expectation with regards to efficient management of resources from levy payers, members and government and, through this collaboration, we are able to leverage off each other.”
With the Vietnam activationcompleted, the Collaboration Group now turns its attention to the next target market – Indonesia.
“Indonesia is an incredibly significant market,” Mr McElhone said. “It’s seen by the Australian food and wine industry as the next big thing after China, with a significant population and an enormous trade profile. We are really looking forward to building that partnership for the future.”
The Australian Food and Wine Collaboration Group is support by an Agriculture Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) grant of $500,000. An additional $600,000 grant announced earlier this year will see the partnership continue, with target markets including Taiwan slated for the next two years.
* Data reference: ABARES, September 2023: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/trade/dashboard
Acknowledgements
The Australian Food and Wine Trade Collaboration was created to promote quality Australian food and beverages in key international markets. The members and funding partners are Dairy Australia, Hort Innovation, Meat & Livestock Australia, Wine Australia and Seafood Industry Australia.