THE Southern Dirt grower group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese giant Amaranth Ecological Technology Co Ltd (AET) to import, trial and distribute its Amaranth seed and product.
The announcement was made at the Southern Dirt Techspo in Katanning last Wednesday by AET chairman Tao Yang and was signed in the presence of Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan.
AET is one of China’s most successful agricultural companies with the Amaranth product described as a hardy dryland fodder and food plant with proven health benefits.
Southern Dirt chief executive officer Tracey Hodgkins said they now had the sole right to trial and distribute Amaranth in Australia.
“We’ll see how it goes in different micro climates and if it yields well, it’ll be used initially as a fodder plant to feed animals and fetch a premium price as meat going back to Chinese markets,” Ms Hodgkins said.
“There’s also potential down the track for it to be used as a ‘pharmaceutical’ with it’s huge antioxidant benefits.
“Amaranth has a lot going for it.”
The signing is a major step forward for Southern Dirt as it seeks to improve the profitability and expertise of its members.
While it is in its initial stages, the agreement will see keen interest from government and industry to see how it progresses and the opportunities that may emerge from the deal.
Ms Hodgkins said an opportunity existed for WA to open up a new export market of fodder crops to meet China’s demand for its pork industry.
China imports more than 55 per cent of its fodder for the pork industry.
Using Amaranth in the Australian domestic market as a fodder for beef, dairy, sheep and pig farmers, would also provide a point of difference to meat exports to China and demand a higher price.
AET has invested 12 years of research into a strain of Amaranth, to produce a high protein and pollutant-free silage fodder for livestock, poultry and seafood.
AET’s aim is to meet the international safety standard of zero antibiotics, hormones and pesticide residue.
Mr Yang told the 300-strong Techspo crowd at the Katanning Recreation Centre that he firmly believed Amaranth had the potential to dominate world markets for decades to come.
“It has two important qualities,” Mr Yang said.
“High yielding and high protein content – so I’m happy and excited to be sharing this with Australian farmers.”
Mr Yang has forged partnerships with farmers in multiple Chinese provinces and supplied more than two million acres per year to market.
The company has built multiple market entry points and acquired food accreditation approvals in almost all continents in the world.
Mr Yang said during his address, in which he used an interpreter, that AET wanted to “replace fodder crops with new breeds so that humans and livestock were not competing for food”.
He said 200 million tonnes of fodder were consumed around the world annually and AET was able to produce a 150mt yield annually.
“Our goal is to replace the majority of fodder crops in China with Amaranth,” Mr Yang said.
“We are also open to work with other corporations, including in Australia.
“We would like to see the partnership between Australia and China to provide the world with healthy, green food.”
Mr Yang said China was the world’s biggest pork consumer and consumed 6000 tonnes an hour.
He said due to a lack of supply, the price of corn had skyrocketed in recent years.
“The demand for healthy foods is increasing,” Mr Yang said.
“The green, healthy organic food is what the consumer wants globally.”
Mr Yang said the Amaranth “superfood” was able to produce 10 times the amount of fodder per hectare than its competitors, which would reduce the cost of pork meat production by 15pc-20pc.
He said it helped piglets increase in weight and size rapidly to reach the market sooner to meet the demand.
Mr Yang said by introducing the new fodder, AET’s profit had increased dramatically, although the motivation of the company was to provide “huge social benefits”, especially to the majority of Chinese who lived below the poverty line.
He said the Chinese government had also selected the product for its astronauts in its space program to provide them with their healthy dietary needs.
Amaranth Grain and Greens for Health Benefits author Kaufui Wong said, “Amaranth is an ancient plant, which has been estimated to be eaten by humans for about 8000 years”.
He said the “ancient Greeks” used the plant.
A number of Amaranth species are grown as leaf vegetables, as a cereal or cereal substitute, and garden plants for landscaping purposes.
Mr Wong said there was a list of health benefits resulting from eating Amaranth greens, seeds and food products made from its flour, as well as from consuming its oil.