DISCUSSIONS are underway for the continuation of the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC), as the organisation's first five-year term comes to an end.
Chairman Terry Enright has confirmed to Farm Weekly that a "decision was expected to be made early in the new year".
Mr Enright said AEGIC's members would soon decide on what the future structure would look like, but said, "the thinking at the moment is AEGIC will still be there".
"It's an investment by the State government and they will want to invest in it because it has been performing and meeting their expectation," Mr Enright said.
He said Australia was out of some markets on the basis of price, but "when that turns around we want to know - what is it that you want?"
Mr Enright said AEGIC was well placed in the research and development arena.
"India is a priority for the Federal government, as it wants to start trade negotiations with India, so we have been in there in the wheat and barley space doing some market analysis," Mr Enright said.
"Broadly speaking, in some period of time they will be a net importer of grain because of their population growth and the logistical difficulties of moving grain from the north to the south.
"There's also a growing market there for malt barley for beer production - because their current malt is not as good as ours.
"We also understand what the quality requirements are for their types of breads.
"We know what they are and we are digesting that information and will share that with the exporters and the crop breeders.
"If the tariff's change over time or the import restrictions get removed, at least we know what is required in that market.
"We did similar work in Myanmar a few years ago and there's Australian wheat going in there now."
Mr Enright said there were more markets that were moving to wheat consumption instead of rice.
"So this long-term view is beneficial," he said.
"The growing affluence in Indonesia has changed the whole market.
"There's scope for soft wheat in there as their taste has changed from bread to buns and biscuits, and those sorts of things require a soft wheat.
"So now we are looking at the soft wheat industry."
In AEGIC's 2019 Annual Report chief executive officer Richard Simonaitis said this year they put an even greater emphasis on stakeholder engagement and communication, working closely with the Australian grain industry to ensure delivery in the right areas.
"Our quarterly project updates and regular in-market travel notifications keep stakeholders in the loop about our project outcomes and provide opportunities for collaboration," Mr Simonaitis said.
"The feedback we are getting from our stakeholders consistently confirms that our projects are valued.
"Building on AEGIC's significant body of market intelligence, we are working with South-East Asian flour millers to make further improvements to Australian wheat's noodle quality.
"We know our wheat is highly-regarded for noodles, and understanding more about customer preferences for noodle texture and colour attributes will help Australia cement its status as the preferred choice for noodles."
With health and nutrition increasingly important to Asian consumers, Mr Simonaitis said they were making great progress in moving oats beyond the breakfast table to a go-to lunch or dinner option in health-conscious China.
He said this year AEGIC scientists successfully made noodles with an oat-flour ratio of more than 50 per cent which was a great achievement.
"As the Asian whole grain bread market continues to grow, we are testing the hypothesis that Australian white wheat is better for whole grain products than the red wheat grown by our competitors," Mr Simonaitis said in the report.
"If we can demonstrate the difference, this will position Australian wheat as the preferred choice for whole grain bread in Asia."
Mr Simonaitis went on to say the Economics and Market Insight team was analysing the key supply and demand drivers for Australian grain out to 2030.
"During 2018-19 we released three reports on major grain markets - Indonesia and Vietnam - with more on the way," he said.
"On the supply side, we released two reports - 'Australian grain supply chain costs, risk and opportunities' and 'Argentina's grains industry: Implications for Australia'."
AEGIC has also developed a training resource to help flour millers in key markets build their technical capacity.
The organisation has also commissioned Australian feed grain experts to develop and communicate information to Asian buyers about the benefits of Australian feed grains.
"This is a huge growth market and buyers are very interested in learning about how to incorporate Australian grains into their feed formulations," Mr Simonaitis said in his report.
