Goal
To gain and retain export market access by designing and testing new evidence-based protocols and standards.
This will give importing countries strong assurances around pest and disease, food safety standards, and other credentials that otherwise form a barrier to trade.
Outcome
Our work aims to remove non-tariff trade barriers and deliver access to more diverse, flexible and premium markets.
This will be underpinned by new science-based trade protocols that are both practical and cost-effective for industry and reduce market access risk (e.g. potential chemical bans or voluntary withdrawals).
Modernised protocols and standards can also reduce regulatory burdens by integrating diverse datasets. These are designed to complement emerging digital approaches to automating compliance processes.
International demand for premium, trusted products continues to grow amid strong global competition. The current trade environment has also heightened the risk of an increase in non-tariff trade barriers.
The problem
In this context, Australia needs regulatory protocols and standards that build ongoing trust in our assurance processes for biosecurity, food safety and other trade sensitive credentials.
Export markets value Australian agrifood products largely due to our high regulatory standards, however the following obstacles remain:
- biosecurity and food safety concerns from importing countries continue to limit our ability to access and maintain key international markets
- many approaches to meet efficacy requirements of trading partners adversely impact food quality and are expensive
- credentials such as sustainability, chemical residues and animal welfare benchmarks, must increasingly be verified to meet trade requirements.
Our solution
We are developing science-based, internationally accepted practices that demonstrate and maintain trust in the safety and biosecurity of our fresh produce and agrifood products.
These practices need to target international market access, while being consistent with the sound and trusted domestic food safety and biosecurity protocols that underpin our national reputation.
To achieve this, the Mission is:
- capitalising on the technological innovation that is occurring throughout the supply chain
- providing the science needed to develop and harmonise globally accepted risk-based approaches and standards to underpin global trade
- strengthening ties between food safety, biosecurity compliance and other trade sensitive assurance requirements.
Key activities and progress
New risk frameworks
We are building new data-rich risk frameworks for use by governments to support access to markets.
Modern risk frameworks must be adaptable to change, so we are building in added flexibility to deal with changes like geopolitical shifts, new chemical approvals, and technological advances for Australia’s horticulture industry.
We developed a menu of measures online tool to help regulators and trading partners consider all available options – including to recognise and quantify the things that farmers do already which reduce risk.
Demonstrating environmental credentials
We are developing an integrated data system that will give consumers confidence, and regulators adequate assurances, that food is produced or processed in a way that meets various environmental standards.
The system will use on-farm sensors to simply or autonomously collect data on an environmental metric, such as energy or water use, to demonstrate regulatory compliance.
New overseas markets for red meat
Australia exports beef to over 100 markets with a range of biosecurity and food safety requirements.
New digital solutions can help producers more readily identify opportunities to enter new markets and demonstrate their relevant credentials.
For example, we are developing harmonised risk-based platforms for biosecurity, food safety and food quality credentials.
Partners
The Trusted Agrifood Exports Mission is a partnership between CSIRO, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Meat & Livestock Australia to digitally transform Australia’s agrifood supply chain and grow export premiums across commodities.
We are also working with collaborators across industry, the research sector and government on key projects to reach our goal.
This includes Horticulture Innovation, Meat & Livestock Australia, peak industry groups, and the Victorian, Western Australian and New South Wales governments.