PERTH, AUSTRALIA — A new project from the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) is being launched to provide the wheat industry with the latest objective insights into wheat quality preferences in Southeast Asia, the most valuable wheat export region for Australia.

To be delivered by AEGIC with investment from Grains Australia, the project will be initiated when AEGIC’s Chris Carter, markets insights manager, and Larisa Cato, wheat quality technical markets manager, meet with end users and customers in the region during November and December.

“The goal is to empower the Australian industry to make more informed decisions around wheat breeding, production and classification,” Carter said. “Ultimately, the aim is to ensure that Australian wheat meets customer requirements and is the preferred choice in Southeast Asia.”

Grains Australia, an initiative of the Grains Research and Development Corp. (GRDC), is responsible for vital industry services and functions that improve the industry’s competitiveness and profitability. The new project was endorsed by its Wheat Council, which provides strategic advice to the Grains Australia Board.

AEGIC is an initiative of the Western Australian state government and Grains Australia. AEGIC is a delivery partner for Grains Australia’s market insights and education services.

Australia is among the world’s major wheat exporters. In its October report, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture forecast wheat production in marketing year 2024-25 at 28.5 million tonnes with exports of 20 million tonnes. 

Australia has six long-term core wheat export destinations — China, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam — and has increased its share of Australia’s wheat exports over the last five years, the FAS said. They have grown from a little under 60% to about 70% of overall exports.

China and Indonesia have been the primary destinations, with China showing significant variation but remaining the largest market, the FAS said. Indonesia is Australia’s second-largest wheat export market as it has focused on building its milling capabilities.

Carter said the project would build on information that AEGIC collected in-market from 2015-19 that detailed Southeast Asian wheat quality preferences, as part of a GRDC-invested project.

“At that time, the AEGIC team conducted rigorous choice analysis with flour millers and other processors across Southeast Asia on a range of end-product and flour quality attributes,” he said. “The resulting insights gave the Australian industry crucial guidance on how to tailor Australia’s wheat offering to customer preferences.