Article – Growing wheat to meet Asia's demands

14 April 2014
Brett Worthington
ABC Rural

PHOTO: Dr Larisa Cato, a wheat quality specialist with the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre, says farmers should consider growing varieties Asian markets want.

Farmers need to grow wheat varieties that Asian export markets want.

That’s the message the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre is telling growers who want to capitalise on new export markets.
AEGIC’s Dr Larisa Cato says there’s money to be made if growers change what they grow.
She says researchers also need to consider developing wheat crops that appeal to foreign markets.
“(We need to be) developing varieties with improved functionality and improved quality,” she said.
“Also from a research point of view, perhaps rethinking the processing or packaging of these varieties to focus on a particular market or a particular end product in a particular market.”
Indonesia is Australia’s largest wheat export market, with China and Vietnam growing in their appetite for Australian grain.
Dr Cato recently returned from a trip to Japan, South Korea and China.
“Our growers need to be proud of the fact that we are growing wheat varieties… that are recognised and valued for a number of reasons, including cleanliness of our grain, (the) good milling properties of our grain and good extraction properties of our grain,” Dr Cato said.

Courtesy of ABC Rural