Why choose these countries
Beef production has struggled to keep up with demand, driven by rapid population development and income growth especially in key urban consumption areas. Meanwhile, beef industries in the region are developing and changing rapidly with enormous opportunities.
- The nine listed countries were chosen as country partners in the project because of their considerable development potentials and increasing demands, especially their strong beef trade flows. The formal and informal trade flows in this project include:Within and into Indonesia, especially from Australia but also from neighboring countries like Timor Leste
- Within the Mekong Region (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar)
- A significant trade into China from Mekong countries (live cattle and informal beef trade) and from Australia (beef), and potentially live cattle.
These trade flows have important implications for rural development; consumer access to red meat protein and food price inflation; disease and bio-security risks associated with livestock trading and for the Australian beef industry.
As the trade flows in the region can be changed quickly and can be reported inaccurately, these particular countries may have limited knowledge of developments in other parts of the region or how this affects their national industries.
To deal with these issues, the project is carried out to provide a trusted source and a platform for all related parties to share knowledge and exchange information.