WHILE recent free trade agreements have been highly touted in agribusiness circles, Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA) has been conducting international handshaking of its own.
The organisation has signed three new research agreements with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT), Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd (JISL) India and Bioseed Research India (BRI).
The agreements each form a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will allow researchers from ICRISAT, JISL, BRI and Australian agencies to undertake joint research and development in horticulture for the first time through HIA.
ICRISAT director general Dr William Dar said his team was excited that through the collaboration it will be doing high-impact research that is expected to reach and benefit millions of farmers and consumers globally.
Acknowledging the support from ICRISAT, HIA director David Cliffe emphasised the importance of the new partnership.
“HIA Ltd is glad to start this collaboration with ICRISAT in the area of modern genome science including sequencing, genotyping and functional genomics, that will help advance the horticulture industry in Australia,” Mr Cliffe said.
JISL and HIA Ltd have committed to exploring research in a number of horticultural crops, with an initial focus on mango crops.
This is the first formal relationship between two countries to address key research issues in mango.
HIA chair Selwyn Snell said working collaboratively will benefit both countries as they identify research gaps and potential opportunities.
BRI has a cutting edge R&D program servicing vegetable and broad acre crops with hybrid seeds.
Vegetables are an important crop for both countries and the MoU will allow HIA to focus on key research areas in vegetable crops that will advance the industry further.
Recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Australia and met with federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce.
Mr Joyce said agrifood demand in India could be a powerful opportunity for the Australian agriculture sector – with the real value of agrifood consumption in India projected to rise by 136 per cent between 2009 and 2050.
“India has been one of the world's fastest growing economies over the past 20 years, in part reflecting an increase in the openness of their economy to global markets,” Mr Joyce said.
“Driven by strong income growth, particularly in urban centres, combined with India’s continued population growth, youthful demographic and increasing urbanisation, consumption of agrifood products is projected to more than double between 2009 and 2050."
Mr Joyce said a new analysis of India’s food demand by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), called What India Wants, projects the real value of agrifood consumption in India would rise to US$709 billion (in 2009 US dollars) by 2050, driven largely by greater quantities of food demanded.
“Assuming current agricultural policies are maintained, the value of imports to India (in 2009 US dollars) of vegetables is projected to rise to $US47 billion by 2050, fruit to US$58 billion, dairy products to US$13 billion and wheat to US$15 billion,” he said.
“That reflects a rise in fruit consumption of 246 per cent, while vegetable consumption is projected to rise by 183 per cent and dairy products by 137 per cent over the same period.”
But Ausveg has tempered the projection, saying India’s consumption is not expected to be matched by domestic Indian vegetable production, which will only increase by 107 per cent and that Indian vegetable imports are therefore predicted to reach US$47 billion (in 2009 US dollars) by 2050.
“The Australian vegetable industry is looking to expand its export markets, and these projections show that there is a tangible opportunity for Australian growers to capitalise on the growing export market to India,” Ausveg spokesperson Andrew White said.
“However, the current terms of trade could prove an obstacle, with tariffs on Australian vegetables and poor market access a real issue for Australian vegetable exporters.”
“A favourable trading status with India and increased bilateral consultation on phytosanitary protocols are vital if Australian growers are to take advantage of this growing market.”
“Otherwise, the combination of high tariffs and limited market access will rule out India as a potential market for most growers, leaving Australia behind while other countries cash in.”
