Asian-markets database aids Australian food and beverage exporters

Shanghai supermarket shoppers.

lgao, Flickr CC

A comprehensive database for Australia-based food and beverage exporters offers a wealth of information from multiple key data sources in a single web location.

The Export Market Insights (EMI) database aggregates results of relevance to exporters from 304 reports for 38 food and beverage categories in eight target markets around Asia: China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

The database is an initiative of Food Innovations Australia Ltd (FIAL) , a body established by the federal government to help those in our food and beverage industries to innovate, collaborate and succeed at home and abroad. FIAL collaborated with supply-chain logisticians and economics experts at Victoria University’s Institute for Supply Chain and Logistics (ICSL) and Australian food and beverage exporters to develop the database, in response to numerous requests from exporters for simplified access to information on specific target markets overseas. Companies of all sizes and varying levels of export experience were consulted to ensure the reports and insights included would be relevant.

“Companies want support to be better at export and grow their confidence to break into the export market,” notes FIAL General Manager for Innovation, Capabilities and Skills Dr Barry McGookin. “The most reliable and valuable information available comes from key state and federal government agencies. What EMI seeks to do is combine information from multiple sources… and present summary reports by country and product category to give rich insights.”

Gaining access to all this data via one site means companies can translate insights into exportable products or services much faster, enabling them to “to take advantage of real market opportunities”, says Dr McGookin.

What's in the database?

The new EMI includes:

• information about collaborative partners;
• web links to sources of key information and data, including export markets, economic and demographic conditions, market characteristics, trade support services and trade agreements, for each of the target countries;
• 304 product reports covering 38 individual food categories by Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) codes, for each of the target Asian nations; and
• for a small extra fee, additional reports containing more detailed, tailored analyses of import food demands by product and country.

The substantive analyses will be of particular relevance to SMEs looking to export to Asia, says Dr Bidar.

“We analyse the data and indicate the key findings for business,” he explains. “For example, ‘The market share for Australian beef to Malaysia is 20 percent, and our competitors are New Zealand and the US’ or, ‘The trend over the next four years is growing or declining’.”

The EMI also incorporates additional links and reports, including:

• data on products and prices for leading supermarket across the eight target markets with web links to the top five supermarkets in each, enabling users to access prices and product ranges in real time;
• data on export numbers and value from food export businesses across Australia;
• for each of the countries covered, information on import processes and requirements: trade agreements, key legislation and regulations, customs and import procedures, importing costs, food labelling and packaging requirements; and accreditation of producers.

Dr Bidar said phase two of the project, currently underway, would provide “more specific information in terms of product categories, or of market profiles and analysis of future demand drivers”.

For more information or to access the new EMI, visit the Supply Chain Information Unit (SCIU) website.