China: Where Beef Rises

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On April 11， in Shanghai， the Australia Week in china ended with a grand dinner， in which a dish made of Australian wagy won a lot of praise from the guests.

The favor of this dish could represent the increasing fame and popularity of Australian beef. It is known that the sales of beef at Sam’s Club of Wal-Mart in Shanghai hit 30 tons in March， six times as high as that of last September. In 2013， China imported 297 thousand tons of beef， double of the amount in 2012. About half of the imported beef came from Australia.

The popularity of Australian beef is a result of its quality and safety. Harold Sim， CEO of Australian food producer and exporter Vicstock， told CBF that“Australian beef， as well as the other agricultural products of this country， is known to be safe and high-quality. With the increasing attention Chinese pay to health and food safety， the demand for Australian beef in China is going to be further expanded.”

From Farm to Market

Being safe and healthy is the general impression the Australian beef leaves on Chinese people. “Australia is an internationally recognized area without the BSE and foot-and-mouth diseas，”said Joy Tang， General Manger of the Meat & Livestock Australia （MLA） in China.

It is not an easy thing to completely keep the beef from being contaminated by the virus or bacteria. This should be attributed to the strict regulations of the beef in Australia. “The entire beef cattle industry has an integrity and traceability system that covers farms， feedlots， transportation， salesyard and processing，” Tang said. “They are under the quality assurance， which is coinitiated by the industrial association， government and relevant organizations in Australia. Each link is subject to the independent audition system.”

Maybe the McLenna farm that is 230 kilometers southwest from Sydney might provide some easy-to-see experiences. For the children of Ian， the owner of the farm， the happiest thing might be none other watching their parents applying tags onto their cattle. They might not know that the tags are actually the National Livestock Identification System （NLIS） that is mandatory to every individual livestock the Australian government issued in 2005. Ian’s farm， as well as other farms in Australia， will be given an 8-digit “Property Identification Code”， which must be printed on the tags when they are applied to the cattle before they leave the farm.

The Code can not only be used to identify which farm the cattle come from， it is also the key for a farm to sustain their business according to the requirements of the Australian government， only the livestock producers with the Code can use the “National Vendor Declaration” to sell their cattle.

This is a part of the “Livestock Production Assurance”， which requires all farms to meet the requirements of chemical use and feeding to ensure the quality and safety of the products. The Australian government is to audit the standards of “Livestock Production Assurance” at random every year， and the farms are subject to the audit on a yearly basis.

This is the first step during the Australian beef’s journey from farms to the market. Every September is the busiest time for Ian， because the cattle he raises will come out of the farm in this month. It is noteworthy to mention the cattle are not moved to the abattoirs or processing enterprises. Actually， most of the beef sold in Australia and all beef exported to overseas markets must go through the feedlots when they are still cattle. Here the professionals feed the cattle with grains and change their diet to alter their meat structure， enabling the beef to meet the standards of different countries and the demand of all consumers.

Like the farms， the feedlots are put under strict regulation too. A set of “National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme” controls the feeding and water quality to ensure the health of the cattle. It is known that there are 700 feedlots in Australia， most of which are located in New South Wales that boasts developed livestock and feeding industries.

The similar monitor and tracing systems can still work after the cattle leave the feedlots. During the transportation， the TruckCare can assure the animal welfare， beef quality and safety； in the livestock salesyard， all records will be recruited into the NLIS.

In the processing and shipping， the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service （AQIS） will join in the rank as a supervisor to see to the national residue survey and so on. The processing enterprises must monitor the hygiene and microbiological indicator； all exports beef must have received an ante-mortem and post-mortem veterinary inspection and is suitable for human consumption； all containers must be sealed under the AQIS standard and cannot be opened until they reach their destinations.

More Chances

The above contents tell how the Australian beef move from “farms to market”. Just as Betty Teng， market expansion manager of MLA in China has said， “the livestock and meat industries are devoted to the food safety， integrity and traceability. We want to meet the demand of our global customers and the quality of our products ensures that our goal can be realized.”

The global customers certainly include Chinese consumers. However， for Chinese consumers who favor the Australian beef， the high-quality beef on their tables is not only due to the Australians. The Chinese also have their own contributions.

“Many people are worrying about the food safety in China， but China has very strict regulations over the imported food， especially in the quarantine，” said Harold Sim. Actually， the research made by CBF revealed that many Australian food exporters， including those selling meat， citrus， milk and alive cattle， think the “quarantine” to be the most difficult part for selling their products to China，

“We must get the license from the Chinese government. Every time our goods are to receive the quarantine and inspection by the Chinese after being delivered to the Chinese port，” said Kerry Kelly， Director of Ecofuels. The company mainly exports alive dairy cattle to China. “In Australia the inspection takes 30 days， but in China it takes 40 days. In addition， the quarantine requirements and procedures are different from the ones in Australia. We have to spend a lot of money and time getting used to them.”

It is the same for the beef industry. It is known that only the Australian abattoirs that get the quarantine certification are allowed to export beef to China. By now， there are around 49 Australian abattoirs. This is a great mismatch for Australia’s role as the “largest supplier of imported beef for China”.

The strict regulations， the difference in quarantine and the high cost it might bring might lead to the gap， but in Harold Sim’s opinion， it is not enough for the beef and other food exporters in Australia to do well in the quarantine in Australia and they cannot ignore the other countries’ rules just because Australia has one of the best quarantine systems in the world. “We must respect and follow the requirements of other countries in quarantine.”

In this aspect， Arcadian Organic， a beef exporter in Australia， might be able to share its own experiences. Since the accreditation and inspection of organic beef in China are completely different from the one in Australia. Acadian Organic invited the Chinese surveyors and inspectors to their plants， abattoirs and farms to see whether its products are“organic” and “safe”.

This costs a lot， but for Alister Ferguson， CEO of Arcadian Organic， the cost is nothing compared with the demand for Australian organic beef in China. “We have been watching the Chinese market for a long while，” he said. “Some Chinese cities’ environment is not so good. Consumers there have the demand for imported organic beef that is larger than anyone can expect. We have just touched the surface.”

This also demonstrates that Australia， which has been the largest exporter of beef for China， is far from fully using its potential. Though the Chinese government has taken measures to boost the domestic beef industry， the rising middle class and the increasing awareness of health can keep the demand for imported beef in China growing at a 20% growth rate annually.

This is a chance that Australia cannot miss. In order to take this opportunity， enterprises， industrial association and government should work together. Harold Sim said that it was necessary to find a proper partner in China； Betty Teng said that MLA will promote the mutual understanding between China and Australia and introduce more Australian exporters to Chinese companies.

As for the Australian government， the free trade agreement Mr. Tony Abbott is trying to finalize will be an important factor for the further development of Australian beef in China. At present， the tariff of China over beef ranges from 12% to 25%. If the FTZ can be finalized， the cost of Australian beef in China will be lowered. When the domestic beef in China is increasing（now it is fivefold of the one in 2000）， the Australian beef， which is not much pricier than domestic beef， will be greeted with more chances.