AN increased demand for health food products in the expanding Asian middle class is opening doors for the Australian oat and hay industry.
Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) director of grains research and innovation Rob Loughman predicts the recognition of oats as a versatile, healthy, wholegrain product in Asia could establish long-term demand and stability in the historically volatile market.
Mr Loughman discussed opportunities for oats at the Grains Research Development Corporations (GRDC) Grains Research Updates held in Perth last week, along with DAFWA agronomist Georgie Troup.
He said a growing Asian population, combined with changing dietary habits, were driving demand for Australian oats for products such as porridge, noodles and flavoured oats.
"We can see that there are a number of factors influencing the industry and oats as a healthy grain is a very significant component of that," Mr Loughman said.
"The wholegrain benefits include soluble fibre, antioxidants, proteins and GI starch and the plant-based oils are healthy, so these factors are a part of the package.
"These new health-conscious markets are shaping our regional trade."
With the middle-class population of Asia predicted to grow to 3.2 billion by 2030, export hay was another sector that Mr Loughman expected to face increased demand.
"Population growth and increasing incomes are also driving Asian demand for wheat and dairy," he said.
"Feedlot beef and dairy industries are developing in target Asian markets to satisfy this demand.
"At the moment Japan and China are our major markets with China growing, South Korea is a significant market and Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Middle East are all emerging as future markets as well."
Mr Loughman said investments in onshore oat processing had paved the way for future opportunities and boosted confidence in the industry.
He said WA's onshore capacity would more than double when companies such as Unigrain, Quaker Oats, CBH and Blue Lake Milling complete expansions and developments in WA over the next 12 to 18 months.
Mr Loughman said the building capacity of State exporting facilities had also grown.
"Established exporters are already building capacity and there were announcements in 2017 which should see the local capacity increase further by about 20 per cent," he said.
The on-farm benefits of oats were also discussed.
"Oats are inherently less prone to waterlogging and frost, they adapt well to early sowing which reduces their risk of spring drought, they produce weed competitive canopies, they offer rotational benefits for soil and foliar disease management," Mr Loughman said.
This sentiment was echoed by Ms Troup, who trialled several oat varieties across the State in 2016.
She expects varieties Bannister and Williams to continue to perform strongly in 2017, but recommended growing more than one variety in order to combat risk.
"Grow more than one variety, everything has a strength and everything has a weakness, there is no golden ticket in oat variety selection unfortunately," Ms Troup said.
"You need to pick your second variety that is going to complement the first."
WAa produced half of the Australian oat crop over the five years to 2015, with 900,000 tonnes delivered last year.
Mr Loughman cautioned that the the steady growth of the WA oat industry was important to reduce the risk of a fall in prices, as was seen in 2016.
"The important message is that if we can get the supply in reasonable balance with the growing demand through the Asian markets then there's an opportunity for this volatility to dampen over time," he said.