Minderoo diversifies products into China

Minderoo Group's premium Australian agri-food division Harvest Road is owned by mining magnate Andrew Forrest and wife Nicola.

The company has its sights set on developing a range of premium products, including its fully-integrated beef business Harvey Beef, a brand of south west fresh milk and a mono-floral honey range destined for China.

This follows the success of recent trials of its retail ready Harvey Beef product range for the Chinese market.

Minderoo Group's head of investment John Hartman told Farm Weekly that several loads of popular primal beef cuts and Harvey Beef retail-ready packaged cuts had been imported to China by Harvest Road, as part of the trial to direct supply highend restaurants and retailers.

Mr Hartman said Harvest Road has sent three trial air shipments to Shanghai as required under Chinese quarantine rules.

"Through the establishment of an office in Beijing and the extensive process we have gone through to obtain the necessary food import and circulation licences," Mr Hartman said.

"Harvest Road in China is specialising in direct supply to end user customers, including eye fillet, porterhouse, scotch fillet and Asian-style cuts.

"Following the successful trials, the direct import and distribution of beef products within China will continue to grow with weekly shipments."

The company is looking to expand its product portfolio beyond beef with a recent trial launch of WA milk, contract packed by Harvey Fresh, and honey into the Chinese market, under the Harvest Road label.

"Every product in our diverse range bears the Harvest Road hallmarks - single source, great craftsmanship, sustainability, animal welfare and full traceability,'' Mr Hartman said.

"If it's Harvest Road, it always ticks these boxes."

He said when Minderoo purchased Harvey Beef in 2014, it conducted an extensive analysis of how beef was being traded into various markets.

At the time the WA beef industry lacked a gate-to-plate mentality.

"We're passionate about transparency and wanted to take an active role in our products' journey from farm to plate, tracking progress, monitoring standards and controlling quality every step of the way," he said.

"Our mission is to delight the world with WA's best produce.

"At Harvest Road, we go all out to create iconic and inspirational products sought-after for their provenance, unique character, purity, quality and taste.

"As a sixth-generation farming family, 'best' for us means provenance, sustainability and traceability as well as craft and expertise.

"We only work with partners who share our philosophy and ethics."

The concept supports Mr Forrest's vision of Australia supplying sustainable, high quality and ethically-grown agricultural produce to overseas markets.

As Australia is a critical link in the global food supply chain, Harvest Road China, assisted by the Forrests' connections and long-lasting relationships in the mining sector, has gained trust and recognition across international markets and has established global export links across agricultural products.

Mr Hartman said ethical supply chains and support for sustainable farming communities were the cornerstones of its agricultural investment philosophy, connecting the farmer to the end customer, extracting greater value.

While beef was the starting point, the focus for Harvest Road was to continue to build up a portfolio of agricultural products - with a focus on vertical integration.

"We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to develop," he said.

"The focus is to invest within the supply chain, in production, processing and grow industries - not just trade product."

Harvest Road China has an office in Beijing with WA and local staff working with end customers such as restaurants, hotels and retailers.

"For our China-based trade customers it provides a convenient service, where we handle the logistics and allow them to pay for product in local currency," Mr Hartman said.