Austrade has proudly highlighted Australian agrifood exporters on home soil with a spectacular showcase at Fine Food Australia.
Fine Food is known as one of Australia’s leading food and beverage trade shows. It was held in Melbourne from 5-8 September for the first time in several years due to COVID-19-related delays. The 2022 event attracted tens of thousands of local and international visitors for its 38th anniversary.
More than 670 exhibitors participated in Fine Food this year, including an impressive 420 Australian businesses.
Austrade’s well-positioned stand at Fine Food included offerings from 46 Australian packaged food, wine and beverage exporters.
A near 50-strong buyer delegation from Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East and Pacific also met with Australian companies. Austrade prescheduled 120 meetings to connect Australian exporters with international buyers. Austrade also made over 100 more introductions during the show.
David Lawson from Austrade’s Agribusiness, Food and Consumer team says Fine Food is key to showcasing Australian agrifood to a global audience. It is expected deals over the coming months could collectively notch up hundreds of thousands of dollars in initial export sales for Australian companies.
‘The buzz at Fine Food was electric. Thousands of people visited Austrade’s stand to sample premium food and beverages from some unique emerging exporters,’ says Lawson.
‘Austrade brings tremendous value to events like Fine Food through the international connections we make, particularly for business-matching activities.
‘We are all about highlighting Australia’s premium food and beverage export capabilities to international buyers. This gives Australian companies an edge and helps boost their trade expansion and diversification efforts.’
Importantly, the selection of products at Austrade’s stand was broad. Offerings were sustainable, healthy and often award-winning - including wine, honey, healthy snacks, oil and tea.
‘It was terrific to see international buyers highly impressed with the array of premium Australian agrifood products showcased,’ says Lawson.
‘We’re now working on the follow-up requests from buyers who had initial meetings with Australian companies. In some cases, they went on to visit their factories and look into the next steps.’
Austrade has helped broker strong deals at previous Fine Food events. This includes the 2019 event where Austrade’s efforts supported Beston Global Food to secure cheese sales into Thailand.
Austrade’s Go Global Toolkit helps you learn the export basics, find the right markets and understand market requirements.