Australian Wheat Penetrates Taiwan

(FarmWeekly) – TAIWAN could emerge as a significant market for Australian wheat, as awareness of the quality of local grain grows among local flour millers.

Currently Taiwan averages about 230,000 tonnes in Australian wheat imports each year, worth about $80 million.

Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) chief executive officer Richard Simonaitis said nearly half of this was used for noodles – mainly yellow alkaline and white salted noodles – and there was room to grow this market segment.

“We know our customers like Australian wheat because of its low moisture content, white bran coat and high flour yield,” Mr Simonaitis said.

“These qualities result in noodles with excellent colour and texture which is why Australian wheat is so well suited to a wide range of noodles.”

AEGIC took this message directly to Taiwanese flour millers as part of an Australian Wheat Seminar in Taipei, presented in conjunction with Austrade.

Held early last week, it was the fourth in a series of similar AEGIC events in Taipei in recent years and was attended by around 70 delegates, including all the major flour milling companies of Taiwan.

Mr Simonaitis said the seminar focused on communicating the suitability of Australian wheat classes Australian Prime Hard and Australian Hard for noodles and Chinese wheat flour based products such as dumplings and steam buns.

“Taiwan is an important and growing market for Australian wheat, and we expect the excellent relationship between the Australian wheat industry and the Taiwan flour milling industry to continue,” he said.

“The Australian wheat industry is committed to continual improvement to meet customer needs.

“AEGIC and other organisations are well-placed to work with Taiwanese flour millers to help maximise the value of Australian wheat.”

Mr Simonaitis was joined in Taipei by AEGIC wheat quality technical markets manager Larisa Cato, who presented a technical overview of Australian wheat.