Red meat processors knock on UK doors

The international tour included representatives from V&V Walsh, Fletchers International and Pardoo Wagyu and was the first time a Western Australian delegation of its kind has travelled to the United Kingdom.

Pardoo Wagyu is already partnered with V&V Walsh, as it is one of the only Australian meat exporters with a licence to export chilled beef products direct to China.

The seven day trade mission included a tour of Smithfield Market, one of the biggest wholesale meat markets in Europe, where delegates had the opportunity to meet with traders and buyers.

Establishing strong relationships with UK market buyers and unlocking new trade opportunities for WA farmers, the group also hoped to leverage the favourable provisions within the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement to establish or enhance their presence in the UK market.

Ms Jarvis said the delegation would have the opportunity to meet with local experts to further understand overseas supply chains and market entry requirements.

"This red meat mission will provide some of our local meat companies with the rare chance to connect face-to-face with international buyers," Ms Jarvis said.

"WA is renowned for its mining exports, but our State is also an agricultural powerhouse.

"We produce some of the finest quality meat in the world and the Cook government is working hard to unlock new trade opportunities for our farmers.

"As a result, we could soon see more chilled sheep and beef meat on international supermarket shelves or served for Sunday roast at pubs across the UK.

"An increased demand for our agricultural products will mean more local jobs and stronger regional economies."

Ms Jarvis was also scheduled to meet with the UK Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries, Mark Spencer, the British Meat Processors Association, the International Meat Traders Association and Meat & Livestock Australia.

The WA delegation would also be attending the International Food & Drink event (IFE) in London, which will serve as a hub for more than 27,000 buyers for the UK's entire food, drink, and hospitality supply chain - including stakeholders from Tesco, Marks & Spencer and British Airways.

The UK tour is on the back of the State government announcing a third round of the Value Add Investment Grant Program.

Up to $6 million is available to encourage local processing and manufacturing across WA's agrifood and beverage businesses.

The feasibility stream offers co-funding grants between $15,000 and $100,000 to help plan and de-risk future capital investment projects.

Matched grants of $500,000 to $1 million are available under the program's capital investment funding stream to assist recipients to expand, diversify or relocate value adding and processing operations to WA.

"We've already seen previous rounds of funding support meat processor V&V Walsh with a state-of-the-art cold store facility in our South West and Sweeter Banana with a food processing centre in Carnarvon," Ms Jarvis said.

V&V Walsh was a previous recipient of $700,000 in funding from the first round of the program - this funding was utilised to assist in the installation of a cold store facility to expand their production - creating an estimated 134 local, permanent jobs at their Bunbury plant.

The Bunbury processor now has a state-of-the-art meat storage facility, featuring cutting-edge technology, allowing it to maintain temperatures as low as -40°C and as high as 2°C according to CPR Electrical Team.

CPR meticulously designed and constructed the brand-new 5000 square metre facility.

The second round of funding saw Milne Agrigroup successfully secure $525,000 toward meat processing facility upgrades and Dardanup Butchering Unit Trust receive $750,000 for site preparation and processing machinery upgrades.