NAAKPA harvests plum rewards for First Nations producers

Kakadu plum is an important source of food and traditional medicine for First Nations Australians. Traces of the fruit have been found on grinding stones dating back over 40,000 years.

The world is now discovering this yellow-green fruit, thanks in part to the Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance (NAAKPA). The cooperative works with 6 Aboriginal enterprises to commercialise Kakadu plums in Australia and overseas. NAAKPA also builds sustainable business practices, delivers food safety training, and supports intellectual property protection.

‘This is about recognising and asserting the sovereignty of the custodians of these foods,’ says Paul Saeki, NAAKPA’s CEO. ‘Export provides them a platform to tell their story in their own words, and to demonstrate their direct connection to what they’re bringing to market.

‘Our members live in remote and rural areas. They often feel isolated from the world. By empowering them to export a unique food from their traditional lands, they feel a sense of pride that they are participating in the greater economic system.’

Seeking new customers overseas

NAAKPA members harvest up to 20 tonnes of Kakadu plums between April and June in the Northern Territory, and from late December and January in northern Western Australia. Four of the Aboriginal enterprises harvest wild fruit, while two harvest from fixed orchards or plantations

‘It’s an opportunity for people, mainly women, to go onto their Traditional Country and harvest fruit,’ says Saeki. ‘The wild harvest can involve up to 200 people. The income they receive goes back into their townships and communities.’

In recent years, domestic sales have plateaued. This led NAAKPA to think about exporting.

‘The challenge is making sure Indigenous people have some sort of toehold in the native food sector,’ says Saeki. ‘Right now, that toehold is about 50% for Kakadu plum. Across the total native food sector in Australia, it’s less than 15%. That’s probably going to shrink over the next 5 or 10 years as the native food sector expands and new players become producers.’

Go Global Toolkit kickstarts export journey

To prepare NAAKPA for exporting, Austrade introduced Saeki to the Go Global Toolkit. Developed by Austrade, the toolkit is a free online resource for Australian businesses at every stage of their export journey.

Saeki used the Go Global Toolkit to understand how exporting worked. The toolkit provided a framework for NAAKPA to build an export model and approach. He used the market search tool to research potential export markets and the export plan builder to develop export plans.

‘The export plan builder has been a huge win for us,’ says Saeki. ‘Export is a complex thing, and this template maps out all the things we need to consider to export successfully.’

‘The Go Global Toolkit has been such a reliable resource at our fingertips,’ says Saeki. ‘It meant we can do more of the work ourselves, and save our consultant dollars for the tricky parts.’

Watch a video on how NAAKPA used the Go Global Toolkit to find export markets.

Making inroads into Japan

In September 2023, Austrade invited NAAKPA to participate in Fine Food Australia, a leading trade event for the food industry. Saeki and members of the cooperative attended the event.

The NAAKPA team met food buyers from around the world at the event. One of these buyers was Horizon Farms. The Japanese online health food retailer sells products from around the world. Horizon Farms placed a trial order of Kakadu plum powder and has since placed 2 more orders.

‘This relationship was a direct result of the Austrade meetings at Fine Foods Australia,’ says Saeki. ‘Austrade has been fantastic. The team has gone above and beyond to provide introductions, market insights, promotional support, even logistics advice.’

NAAKPA CEO Paul Saeki (first left) with members of the cooperative at Fine Food Australia.

Austrade introduced NAAKPA to a Japanese tea company in 2019. COVID prevented NAAKPA from progressing its initial discussions. When NAAKPA followed up in 2023, the interest was still there. Representatives from the tea company have visited Western Australia and met with producers in late 2023.

‘We are discussing launching native bush teas in early 2025,’ says Saeki. ‘The flavours of the jilungin tea – the dreaming tea – are quite similar to green tea. It’s a good fit for the North Asian market.’

‘We’re keen to develop ingredients that can be adapted for products in Japan,’ says Saeki. ‘And not just food, but cosmetics, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals as well. Japan has a sophisticated consumer market and an advanced food manufacturing sector – success in Japan could also lead to opportunities in similar markets like Korea and Singapore.’

Investing in the future

NAAKPA is taking a strategic approach to market entry. ‘Austrade has advised us to look at markets where we can get a premium price for our Kakadu plums,’ says Saeki. ‘They have also steered us towards markets where there is an awareness and appreciation of Indigenous products and culture.’

NAAKPA is also working on projects to help secure its members’ future. One of these is building a processing facility in Darwin. There are currently no food processing contract manufacturers in the Northern Territory. NAAKPA has to ship pallets of Kakadu plums to coastal cities for processing. This is expensive and can affect production quality.

‘If we can close the supply chain loop here, we can manage quality and consistency, as well as innovate in developing stable functional ingredients,’ says Saeki. ‘We think we can produce better products for export than what contract manufacturers are producing. Our plan is to lease a space for small-scale processing, then look at building a larger facility.’

NAAKPA is also investing in capacity-building projects. These include helping producers to better understand fruiting cycles so they can maximise harvests and start scaling up in the future.

‘At the beginning, exporting can seem quite daunting,’ says Saeki. ‘But as you go through it step by step, you see a path and it builds your confidence. It takes time and focus to build overseas market opportunities, and a lot of work.’

Find out how Austrade supports First Nations businesses to go global.

Export delivers long-ranging benefits for First Nations peoples

First Nations businesses make an important contribution to their communities and Australia’s economy, according to a new report by Austrade, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Supply Nation.

The First Nations Businesses Succeeding Internationally report draws on data from Supply Nations’ business registry and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The report found:

• First Nations exporting and importing businesses are typically larger when compared with all First Nations businesses studied, employing more staff and generating higher turnover.
• First Nations goods exporters typically generated almost 9 times more in turnover and employed over 7 times more full-time equivalent workers than all First Nations businesses studied.
• First Nations goods exporters studied generated over $670 million in turnover in 2022–23 with significant opportunities for the sector to benefit more from exporting.

‘The growth of the Indigenous business sector is a bright spot in the Australian economy,’ says Supply Nation Chief Executive Officer Kate Russell.

‘Supply Nation now has well over 5,000 verified Indigenous business on our Directory. It’s natural that many of them will seek collaborative partnerships and business growth in international markets.’

Read the First Nations Businesses Succeeding Internationally report.