OPPORTUNITIES for Australian noodle wheat growers in the Chinese market could be on the horizon, despite the obstacles presented by tariffs.
That was optimistic take-home message from a group of representatives from the Australian noodle wheat industry following a recent tour to China.
The trip was part of a Curtin University project working with Jinshahe Flour Group Manufacturing Company exploring Australian-made wheat noodles and Chinese wheat products for the Chinese market, supported by the Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources’ (DAWR) Agricultural Trade and Market Access Co-operation (ATMAC) program.
With much of China’s demand for wheat met domestically, and Australian wheat still subject to an out-of-quota tariff rate of 65 per cent, the tour was aimed at boosting Australia’s growth potential by building market relationships.
Curtin University associate professor Vicky Solah and Dr Haelee Fenton, led the group of 14 growers, plant breeders, scientists and other industry representatives who travelled to the Chinese cities of Xi’an, Yangling, Xingtai and Beijing, touring manufacturing facilities, universities, flour mills and research institutions in March.
Dr Solah and cereal chemist Dr Graham Crosbie – who also joined the tour – have had a close working relationships with Chinese researchers for more than 20 years.
“Long term relationships are an important aspect in Chinese culture and business,” Dr Solah said.
“While entering the market place with a bulk commodity is prohibitive at present, the market situation may change quickly.
“We want to be on top of what’s happening and we want the growers to be connected with the markets as well.
“We’re trying to bring more people into that group, that relationship is very important and we don’t want to lose that association.”
As part of the tour, Australian varieties and blends were put under the microscope and underwent sensory evaluation against Chinese wheat.
When tested for noodle and steamed bread quality requirements, Dr Solah said results found flour produced from Australian wheat had better gluten properties, dough mixing characteristics and starch properties than the best flour from Chinese wheat.
She said a blend of 40 per cent Mace and 60pc Zen had positive results, with the highest score for noodle smoothness.
“We were really quite excited because the report came back and said all the wheat flours that we sent that were made into noodles were so much better than Chinese flours.” Dr Solah said.
“We sent Mace, but we also sent blends of Mace and Zen and we were trying to look at what they felt about the high-swelling starch that’s in the noodle wheat, and it actually made the noodles a lot smoother, so the noodles got a significantly higher sensory score when compared to high quality Chinese flours.”
Dr Solah said the high Australian quality wheat could soon be in greater demand, with an increased focus on quality produce, and health food products in parts of China.
She said this was highlighted when the group visited food company Good Morning Ancient Capital Breakfast Engineer (GMACBE), where no food additives or colours were used in food products.
“There’s a demand for healthy food, they want food that is still processed that they can buy cheaply on the street, but they don’t want preservatives and additives,” Dr Solah said.
“Young Chinese people are restaurant eaters and so they go to Japanese and other sorts of restaurants and eat different sorts of foods.”
Liberal Party agriculture spokesperson Ian Blayney, who joined the group, said Australia’s high quality wheat could be the ticket to expand the Chinese market, and emphasised the importance of a close relationship with China.
Mr Blayney said WA growers needed to be at the front of the line if trade arrangements changed.
“In parts of Asia we know our very high grade wheats are frequently blended to lift the standard of poorer wheats and so I think there’s automatically, as it deregulates and as we come under the free trade agreement, there’s that opportunity for our wheat to be what lifts the standards,” Mr Blayney said.
He was hopeful continued engagement with Chinese flour companies could lead to investments on Australian soil, which would open opportunities for WA noodle wheat growers and expand the local noodle wheat market.
“I would have thought that if we produce the best noodle wheats in the world, we should be able to produce the best noodles, so that sort of fits into the bigger picture,” Mr Blayney said.
“We’re never going to be the granary of Asia but we can be the gourmet deli, and we can produce the best quality stuff so that’s an interesting opportunity.
“Obviously that’s something we’ll keep an interest in, the thing we want is what’s best for WA growers and I’d love to see a noodle plant here.”
